


Sharpshooter

by Sweets_Thief



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Loss of Limbs, M/M, No Smut, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sniper Armitage Hux, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-11 06:26:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 71,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8962636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweets_Thief/pseuds/Sweets_Thief
Summary: When Snoke sends Hux on a secret mission Kylo learns something new about the General he assumed had no military training except for the studies he did in books. It draws them closer together and Kylo thinks they'd make an unstoppable team. But fate has other plans for them.Sniper!Hux AUPre-Starkiller destruction.**Last Chapter Posted**





	1. Trigger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [solohux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/solohux/gifts).



> this was inspired by a post by Solohux on tumblr about Hux as a sniper and I love the idea, I've seen it in other fics so this was born /o/  
> it's actually a rewrite of a small oneshot i posted on my [tumblr](http://rannystuffandthings.tumblr.com/post/154813710114/sniperhux-au) just spruced up a bit to fit a multi-chapter fic.  
> Eventual Kylux /o/ and actually fight scenes to come

 

Kylo didn’t think he had ever been so stumped in his life. When Snoke had called him and Hux in for a meeting, he had been expecting to be given a mission, something that would require him to leave the Finalizer and allow him to finally stop stewing in boredom. However, Snoke had turned his attention to Hux and given him a brief explanation of a top secret mission that the General needed to complete.

“Hux?” Kylo queried, unable to stop himself. He looked between Snoke and Hux, the latter with a blank expression. “You want to send Hux on this mission?”

“Believe it or not, Lord Ren,” Snoke began his reply slowly, as if he had no time for Kylo’s complaints, “This missions requires someone with General Hux’s capability. Whilst he is gone, you will remain behind and command the Finalizer.”

“Supreme Leader I am-.”

“Skilled with many things, but not as much as the General in this. He had access to the best trainers for certain skills at Arkanis Academy.” Snoke interupted, “Now, General. The full brief is waiting for you on your private Datapad. Go and prepare to leave immediately.

“Yes, Supreme Leader,” Hux bowed his head before leaving, ignoring Kylo completely as he strode from the room.

Kylo watched him leave in disbelief. Snoke looked vaguely amused when he turned back around, and it made Kylo bristle.

“This is a simple mission for you, Lord Ren.” The Supreme Leader’s voice lacked the jest shown on his face, “Command the Finalizer until General Hux returns. Your skills are not needed for anything other than this.” And that was the final word, for the Holo of Snoke disappeared before Kylo could argue.

Struggling to come to terms with the fact that _Hux_ was being sent on a mission rather than him, Kylo left the room and proceeded straight for Hux’s quarters. If he was lucky he would catch the General and be able to pull the mission’s details from his mind. Hux’s mind was loud and he had no defences against Kylo’s use of the Force. Not bothering to knock on the door, Kylo forced it open and stopped short at what he saw.

Hux was standing in the middle of the room, Datapad leaning on the table as he dressed. He had traded in his General’s uniform for a customised armour set. It was based on the Stormtroopers armour but mixed the different classes together. The bulky armour of the normal Stormtroopers was missing, and it looked more like that of a Snowtrooper to Kylo as he ran his eyes over Hux, taking it in. He wore one shoulder strap on the right, black in colour with the General’s insignia running horizontally along it. The armour parts were sleek and black in colour as well, and they looked light and easy to move in. Hux’s normal knee high boots and baggy uniform trousers had been replaced with boots that hugged the very lowest parts of his thighs and extremely well fitted trousers with a perfect centre hem line. The gloves were leather as well, with armour plating on all the fingers bare the index, which Kylo assumed would be Hux’s trigger finger were he to wield a blaster. On his right hand the gloves were fingerless, but they weren’t on the left. It was an odd design that Kylo had never seen before. If he had thought Hux struck a striking figure in his normal First Order uniform, this specialised and personal armour gave an even more impressive effect.

But, Kylo thought drily, of course it was personalised. Hux hid a small, lean body under his normal trench-coat. He was probably too weak to wear proper Stormtrooper armour without falling over. Hux turned as he finished buttoning the leather strap to his shoulder and met Kylo with a derisive sneer. He didn’t look surprised, like he had known Kylo was there.

“What do you want?” He asked, clicking the screen of his Datapad and hiding the mission details, “Come to hound me into letting you go on this mission against the orders of the Supreme Leader?”

“No.” Kylo said gruffly, “Just wondering what he’s sees in you over me.”

“As he said,” Hux said slowly, as if he were talking to a child, “He needs my skills Ren. Not yours. Now play good dog and wait for your Master to return successful.” With that said he strode from his office towards the Hangar Bay. Kylo watched him leave, a barrage of retorts coming to him now Hux was out of earshot. Grumbling in annoyance, he followed Hux down the corridor.

Phasma was the first person Kylo saw when he entered the Hangar, standing with a group of six Stormtroopers. They were dressed in their normal armour, the only difference the visors attached to their helmets and the fact the armour was grey. Kylo frowned. That seemed familiar and he couldn’t place where he had seen armour like that before.

“I have assembled the best Stormtroopers for you, General.” Phasma said, saluting Hux as he stopped in front of the her and surveyed the Stormtroopers. “The stealthiest of my troops, handpicked for the special services the First Order requires.”

“Excellent.” Hux examined each Trooper one by one, but they stood firm under his scrutiny. It impressed him, Kylo noted. “Prepare the shuttle,” He ordered them, “The Supreme Leader has ordered we leave immediately.”

The Troopers saluted and moved off wordlessly, preparing the shuttle under Phasma’s watchful eyes. Hux turned to follow and noticed Kylo skulking in the doorway. “Is there something you need, Ren?” He asked again, “Do you need an instruction manual on how to run a ship in my absence? Perhaps a map to show you the places you haven’t destroyed yet? You don’t have to worry, my crew is competent enough to run correctly without me.”

Kylo bristled against at the insults and walked forward. Hux stood his ground, arms behind his back and fixed the Force user with an icy stare. It sent all on the Finalizer running from him bar Kylo. He had never been intimidated by Hux.

“You won’t be smirking when this missions fails.” He growled. “The Supreme Leader was wrong to choose you.”

Something passed over Hux’s face, so quickly that Kylo thought he had imagined it and Hux gave him no time to dwell. “We shall see.”

The response was simple and quick and left no room for Kylo to reply as Hux turned swiftly and stalked to the shuttle. Kylo quietly seethed as he once again tried to figure out why Snoke would choose Hux for a mission. He was not a fighter. And in that armour he wouldn’t last long in combat. He was physically small and thin, lean and as far as Kylo knew, untrained in any sort of fighting skills. Hux’s skills lay in his intelligence, and that was vast and propelled the First Order forward to greatness. It was why Snoke thought Hux would be a good Emperor of the Galaxy. Apart from that the man was a bore. He liked books and studying old military strategy to further improve himself. Kylo could have snapped Hux in half with a wave of his hand, and yet he had a skill set that Snoke needed that Kylo himself didn’t have. It bothered Kylo more that he didn’t know what it was. The questions swirled in his mind but Hux was no longer available to answer them, as the shuttle closed up and prepared for take-off. Kylo watched him go with a glare.

“Don’t worry.” Phasma said, a hint of jest in her voice. “He’ll be fine.”

Kylo didn’t deign her words with an answer, merely turned and stomped from the Hangar Bay.

\--

A week after Hux had departed for the mission Kylo’s Datapad beeped in the middle of the night, rousing him from sleep. It was an automated message telling him that a shuttle was coming to land aboard the Finalizer, and it had been identified as the personal shuttle of General Hux.

Kylo had never jumped out of bed faster. His heart was racing. Hux was back so soon from the mission. Had it gone wrong? Was he injured? The former thought filled Kylo with a sick kind of glee, but the latter made his stomach twist in fear. He might dislike Hux, but the man was the only tolerable one aboard the Finalizer. And if he wasn’t hurt he would just return to being General and Kylo’s ordeal would be over.

The last week had been torture. Hux led from the front on the Finalizer, even though his staff were qualified. He pushed them to achieve greater things, quicker and faster than they would by themselves. He was ruthlessly efficient and his staff were the same. Kylo was too awkward to do that. He had left the staff to their own devices and work had continued but at a slightly slower pace. All of the paperwork Hux had left behind had fell to Kylo, and it cemented the idea to Kylo that Hux was more suited aboard the ship, not planet side. Those reports would have been done in one night had Hux been around. Kylo had spent the whole week doing them, and it annoyed him.

The Hangar Bay was empty when Hux’s shuttle landed and Kylo entered, but Phasma soon appeared to greet the General as well. Hux strode down the ramp first, not one hair out of place and a triumphant look on his face. Kylo’s eyes were immediately drawn to the Sniper blaster resting on Hux’s shoulder.

“I was expecting a more royal reception.” Hux commented when he reached Phasma and Kylo, “But I suppose being personally greeted by Ren will have to do.”

The six Stormtroopers that had accompanied him followed, each carrying a Sniper blaster too and Kylo realised where he had seen the armour before. There had once been an elite group of Stormtroopers that had been hand selected to serve as Snipers, assassins for the Empire. Clearly the First Order used them too. And Hux was among them. With somewhat rising interest, Kylo realised the General wasn’t as useless when it came to fighting as he seemed.

“Welcome back, General Hux.” Phasma said, saluting, “All went well with the mission?”

“Yes.” Hux confirmed, “The target was assassinated successfully, and the Resistance is yet again down one pillar of support.” His eyebrows twitched when he turned to Kylo, who was staring at him. “Can I do something for you, Ren?” He demanded.

“That weapon is nearly bigger than you,” Kylo said, using the Force to grab the weapon from Hux, much to the General’s chagrin.

“Careful Ren,” He said smoothly with a hint of a smirk, “You aren’t qualified to handle a weapon like that. Captain Phasma, see these Stormtroopers are rewarded accordingly, they performed their task excellently.” Hux commanded, turning away from Kylo again, “And excuse me. I must report to the Supreme Leader.”

“Of course, General.” Phasma saluted again before leading the six Stormtroopers away. Kylo decided to follow Hux.

“You won’t be required for this meeting, Ren.” Hux sniffed dismissively, “Unless you want to finally see the Supreme Leader’s reaction when someone completes a mission successfully?”

Kylo glared at him, then remembered he was wearing a mask and Hux couldn’t see. “I didn’t know you were a sniper.” He said, opting for the less dangerous conversation path. He had succeeded in countless missions, and his were longer and more dangerous than a simple assassination. Not that Hux needed to know that. Hux didn’t care about the Force.

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” Hux replied with a shrug, “Not all are as surprising or helpful.” He stopped walking to turn and fix Kylo with a pointed stare. “I didn’t become a General without proving I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, Ren.” He continued quietly, almost angrily, “Some people just prefer to do it from a more elevated level than others.”

With that said Hux continued on to Snoke’s audience chamber. His uniform was pristine even from the back, and Kylo found himself staring at Hux’s retreating figure, once again dumbfounded. When his brain finally kicked back into gear, he hurried quickly to catch up, wanting to see the meeting between the Supreme Leader and Hux.


	2. Muzzle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo sees Hux's mission and a familiar face that shocks him. With the report given to Snoke, Hux decides he needs to blow off steam and Kylo gets to see Hux's combat training first hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i struggled writing this chapter lmao i had an idea to add Clan Techie into it, because the idea of sniper!Hux brothers was cute but it took away from my original plans so my Techie fic will have to come later :L ~~there is homage to him in SU-006's nickname lmao~~
> 
> SU - for Sniper Unit and the numbers denote the order they joined, 1 through 6.
> 
> also  
> MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

 

Snoke wasn’t waiting for them when they entered his audience chamber, but Hux didn’t seem too perturbed by that. Clearly he was expecting the Supreme Leader to sense his return and appear before him. Or he had sent a message to Snoke to tell him the mission was a success and the Supreme Leader was waiting to sense Hux’s presence before appearing. The latter seemed more likely, Kylo decided as he took his usual place beside Hux and waited for Snoke’s hologram to appear. Hux messed with his armour, readjusting himself to be completely immaculate for Snoke. His left hand was bare but the fingerless glove was still on his right, Kylo noticed. It was odd, but before he could comment the air shifted around them and Snoke flickered into being before them. He appraised Hux but didn’t glance at Kylo.

“A mission well completed, General.”

Hux preened under the praise and nodded, “It was not difficult to do, Supreme Leader. The man was taken down without hassle.”

“As expected,” Snoke said, the pride still present in his tone. “I have seen the report you sent. Efficient and ruthless as always, you have earned the nickname you got in the Academy.”

Hux tensed slightly at the mention of a nickname, and Kylo reached out to brush the edges of his mind to try and find out what it was. The movement in the Force drew Snoke’s attention to him instead.

“Ah, Lord Ren. I can see you’re happy that the General is back to take command of his ship.”

“Where he belongs.” Kylo agreed gruffly, “And not where I do, Supreme Leader.”

Hux sneered.

“There will be a mission for you too soon, Lord Ren.” Snoke reassured, shifting in his chair slightly, “Now General, I would like a run-down of the mission from your own lips please. With the classified information that you could not send in your report.

“Yes, Supreme Leader.” Hux stepped forward, ahead of Ren on the raised dais, and pulled out a Datapad. He began speaking, reading through his own report and adding small things to it. Kylo frowned. This didn’t feel like the full picture, but clipped for the Supreme Leader. Reaching out with the Force, Kylo decided to get a first person view of Hux’s tale, with the full story included. If Hux or Snoke realised what he was doing, neither mentioned it.

\--

_Hux looked up from his weapon as one of the Stormtroopers came over to him. He had not asked for their names yet, but from the print of his armour he saw this one was designated as SU-001. He wore a white pauldron on his left shoulder, denoting him as the leader of this particular troop._

_“General Hux,” He began, voice oddly filtered through the Trooper mask, “I have the blueprints for the building General, if you’re interested.”_

_Hux raised an eyebrow, impressed, and took the Datapad the Trooper offered to him. They were close to the planet, around two hours away by Hux’s reckoning, and they had only left the Finalizer just over six hours ago, and yet they could now begin a proper plan. Phasma had chosen well._

_“Very impressive, SU-001,” Hux commented as he scrolled through the Datapad, his mind already formulating a plan, looking for the best way in, the best place to hide and the best spot to shoot from. The blueprints were accompanied by a list of the man’s activities around the house, to help Hux plan better. Hux was barely this impressed by mere Stormtroopers._

_“It wasn’t me,” 001 said truthfully as he watched the General, “It was out little Techie here.” He gestured behind him at one of the Troopers sitting over a Datapad._

_“Techie?” Hux questioned, looking up._

_“Oh. Apologies General Hux. Su-006, our newest addition. He’s good at the technical side that comes with tracking and assassinating someone, so he earned the nickname Techie.” 001 explained._

_Hux nodded in acknowledgement, eyes still on the blueprints in front of him. “And you? As the leader, do you have a nickname?”_

_“Oh, yes I do. My name is Trigger, General.” 001 replied._

_“Trigger? Impressive. Are you the one with the most assassinations under your belt?” Hux asked._

_“I am, General.” Trigger confirmed, “We’ll be there soon, I’ll leave to plan.”_

_“Good. Make sure your men are ready to be debriefed soon.” Hux ordered. Trigger saluted and left Hux to his Datapad._

_\--_

_The schedule had been perfect, Hux decided, as he made his way secretly along the roof of the home of the man they had been sent to kill. Through the schedule Hux had learned that he went by the name ‘Lord’. Assuming it was a title, Hux immediately decided that he didn’t like this man. He lived on a backwater planet, but had decided himself a Lord. None of the Stormtrooper’s had argued or corrected him._

_The Troopers had been ordered to fan out along the building as well and watch the main entrances. They all had portable Commlinks in their ears so the Troopers could alert Hux to any changes or interruptions when he finally decided to make his move. Hux had found a more private spot for himself, inside Lord’s house. The bedroom was situated in a courtyard, and directly across in the wall there was an air vent. It was perfect cover, allowing not only a quick and quiet escape but also access to the entire house. If Hux messed up his first attempt he could track Lord through the house and try again. Not that he was going to mess up his first attempt._

_It took three days for Hux to finally decide to kill Lord. He had watched him from dawn until dusk, hidden in the vent, noting down all connections to the Resistance on a small Datapad attached to his armour. When dusk fell and the house went silent Hux returned to the shuttle, leaving one of the Troopers watching the house, and gathered all the intel together. Nothing suspicious so far, just the usual connections to the Resistance of being sympathetic and occasionally sending money. On the third day it changed, as there were rumours that Trigger had picked up on that Lord was going to be having a party at his house the following night, to collect donations for the Resistance, and Leia Organa herself might be there._

_\--_

Kylo pulled back suddenly from Hux’s memories at the mention of his mother. Hux didn’t seem to notice, continuing his report about the rumour of the party and how the plan had changed without blinking. Snoke glanced at Kylo, but said nothing. If he knew Kylo had been watching Hux’s memories he did not seem concerned, and the mention of Leia had his interest more than anything else. Was this the classified information that Hux had been unable to include in the report? That he had seen Leia at this party. Had he killed her? Kylo’s blood ran cold and he cursed himself for it. Leia Organa meant nothing to him anymore and the mere mention of her should not cause him to panic.

Taking a secret, deep breath, Kylo reached out again to latch himself onto Hux’s memories and continue.

\--

_The rumour that Organa might be there had changed Hux’s plan immediately._

_“001, take both 004 and 005 and take up a triangular pattern on the perimeter. You will be in charge of covering us if we need to make a more public escape.” Hux ordered, crouching over the blueprint and indicating the positions he wanted. “002 and 003 will be positioned slightly lower to ground, as back up for myself and 006. He will be coming with me.”_

_“As backup if you miss, General?” Trigger inquired._

_The look Hux shot him was cold and Trigger actually shivered. “He will be there to be the eyes in the back of my head. There will be a lot of Resistance sympathisers there tomorrow night, and I will be focused on Lord. He is also a lot more technical than you. There are parts of this mission that are highly confidential and known only to myself, Leader Snoke and 006. Is the plan clear?”_

_“Yes General!” The Six Troopers saluted at once and then split to rest. Hux continued looking over the blueprints, his mind racing. Calculating the quickest escape routes if something went wrong was tiring, but he needed to confirm them to himself again before he grabbed some sleep. He had already made a contingency plan, as there was always a chance things could go wrong. Hux had considered all angles, and the thought of Leia Organa being there and witnessing the death of one of her supporters bolstered his confidence that everything was going to go according to plan._

_\--_

_The party had been in full swing for hours and there was still no sign of Organa. Hux was getting frustrated, and he had to take calming breathes to make sure these feelings didn’t interfere with his shot. His blaster was constantly trained on Lord, and his eyes constantly followed him, as he had for the last three days. Hux would give Organa another half an hour to appear and if she failed to do so, Lord was dead._

_“General!” 005’s voice came through Hux’s ear, “I’ve spotted who I believe could be Organa approaching. Entering from the west side.”_

_Hux remained silent and turned his attention to the west entrance. Sure enough Organa entered, flanked by soldiers that clearly came from the Resistance. Dressed casually so they would fit in with the party, Hux could tell from the slight shift of their clothing that they were armed. The Troopers were talking quietly to each other, shifting their positions to cover all angles now Organa had appeared._

_“General,” Trigger was speaking directly to him now and Hux forced himself to pay attention, “Your orders?”_

_“They have not changed,” He spoke quietly so he would not give away his position, “We kill Lord and then we leave. There is to be no engagement with anyone else unless absolutely necessary.”_

_“Yes General.”_

_Hux watched Organa now, waiting for the perfect moment to shoot. Of the seven First Order personnel there Hux believed he was the only one aware of how important Organa’s presence was to Snoke. It had always been known that she supported the Resistance, but her presence confirmed which of the associates the First Order could put names to were real and which were fake. Organa eventually met Lord and them embraced, slowly. Hux shifted into proper position, the blaster resting against his shoulder as he looked down the scope at Lord and Organa. He aimed the muzzle right between Lord’s eyes with a practised touch and left his trigger finger resting below the trigger, to make sure he didn’t accidently discharge the gun._

_There was a thrill running through Hux that he had missed. The stalking, the information gathering, the planning and the intoxication at watching someone down the scope of a gun knowing their life was in your hands made Hux feel powerful. The smell of the blaster only added to it, as it always had, and with a deep breath Hux shifted into the meditative state he usually wound up in when he was about to take his shot._

_“I’m preparing the shot.” He said out loud to inform the Troopers they should soon begin to retreat. Hux received no verbal confirmation from them, but he didn’t need it. Glancing at Organa’s hair, Hux calculated the slight wind speed from the free locks running down from the ridiculous up do. Adjusting the gun slightly to account for it, Hux breathed in and out slowly, and then fired. There was no sound, no muzzle flash, all of it suppressed at the front of the gun, but the recoil that hit Hux’s shoulder felt so good that the General felt truly in that moment the weight of how much he had missed this. The rank and title of General of the First Order was one step in his main goal to become Emperor, but Hux knew as well that he could have been happy as a first-class sniper for the First Order if the ambition and opportunities hadn’t existed._

_Now wasn’t the time for contemplation however, Hux chastised himself. With quick and skilled movements, he disassembled the blaster to make it easier to carry and then slipped through the vent after 006 to escape. The party was in panic, people screaming and the Resistance troops encircled around Organa, who had Lord’s blood on her face. Before anyone had identified where the shot had come from Hux and his Troopers were escaping via the rooftops and the vent, back towards the First Order shuttle. As the rumours started amongst those at the party that the First Order had struck down Lord in a botched attempt to assassinate Organa, Trigger and Hux were piloting the shuttle out of the planet’s atmosphere and back to the Finalizer._

_\--_

Hux’s memories trailed off there as he stopped speaking, and Kylo felt so numb that he didn’t want to dive any further in. Hux was ruthless, both mentally and physically when it came to sniping. The immense control and calmness that had spread through the General before he had taken the shot reminded Kylo of the meditative state he achieved as part of his Force training. The shock of actually seeing his mother – no Leia Organa, she was Ben’s mother – through Hux’s eyes had not been as great the second time as he had focused more on Hux than her. Snoke seemed to sense this too, as he did not mention anything about Leia when he finally spoke again.

“I am glad you managed to make it out without an incident.” Snoke said. He didn’t sound glad, but neither Hux nor Kylo mentioned it. “Was SU-006 able to secure the files?”

“He was, Supreme Leader.” Hux confirmed, “I have personally gone over them. Plans and transcripts from meetings of those loyal to the Resistance. Also, the coordinates for bases on distant planets. Useful information that we would not have found had Lord stayed alive.”

“A shame you did not get to demonstrate your combat skills for Lord Ren.” Snoke’s attention turned to Kylo, who realised his dip into Hux’s memories hadn’t gone unnoticed. “Send those files to me on our secure network and I shall determine their liability. If there are other missions that require such specialised training I will call for you personally General. I did not need to see your memories to feel the longing for field work that grew in you.”

Hux flushed, glaring at Kylo as Snoke revealed what he had done, but still managed a smooth reply. “My gratitude, Supreme Leader. I will do whatever the First Order needs of me.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Snoke appraised Hux again. “You have done well General. There will be something appropriate as a reward waiting for you in your chambers. You are both dismissed.”

Hux managed to hide the strange and unpleasant feeling that passed through him at the knowledge that Snoke had access to his personal quarters when he wasn’t aboard the ship as he strode from the room, Kylo hot on his heels. Even without the Force he could almost sense the interest and questions on the tip of Kylo’s tongue. Half way down the corridor from the audience chamber he wheeled around and Kylo stopped suddenly to avoid crashing into him.

“Why did you go poking around inside my head?” Hux demanded.

“You didn’t tell the Supreme Leader everything.” Kylo replied, “You left out the part about the Stormtrooper nicknames. Why?”

“It was not pertinent to the report.” Hux sniffed, “What do you want Ren? Why are you following me like a kicked puppy?”

“I’m not following you.” Kylo snapped defensively, “There is only one way back from seeing Snoke.”

Rolling his eyes Hux turned again and stalked off. Kylo followed him, although he trailed behind more than before, his eyes watching as Hux considered what to do. He could return to his chambers, change from his armour and find out exactly what Kylo had done whilst he had been gone. That was not appealing to him, Hux found, since he didn’t believe Kylo would have actually done that much work. He was ecstatic and wired from the success of the mission and his first real field work in years. He had energy to burn, and Hux knew that the officer’s training room would be the best place for him. It wasn’t surprising to him to see Kylo turn that way too.

“You’re suddenly interested in me because I’m no longer the General that hides behind desks and got his title for his quick and brilliant mind, am I right, Ren?” Hux asked loudly, making sure Kylo could hear him even though he was hanging back.

“I’m not interested in you.” He huffed, “Just what sort of fighting style could impress the Supreme Leader when coming from you.”

Ignoring the insult, Hux pulled out the small Datapad that was attached to his armour and sent a message to Lieutenant Mitaka to meet him in the officer’s training room. Mitaka responded immediately, confirming he would be there shortly. The two had trained together in that room at least three days a week when their schedules could allow, as Mitaka had been taught a similar style of hand to hand combat that Hux had.

“You’re welcome to come and see.” Hux spoke before he really thought about it. “I’m going to train now.”

Kylo said nothing, but he followed Hux regardless. He was still wearing his armour and carrying a sniper blaster, Hux realised, but anyone they passed in the corridors saluted him and paid no heed to it. Mitaka was waiting in the training room for them, dressed in a strapped shirt and light pants. He looked surprised, and a little scared, to see Kylo.

“General Hux,” He said, trying to swallow his fear, “Welcome back aboard.”

“Thank you Mitaka.” Hux replied, loosening some of his armour and hanging it across one of the chairs set up at the side of the room. He didn’t stop until he was down to his own strapped shirt and the tight pants of his armour. Kylo stood against one wall, scowling.

“Um…is he joining in today, General?” Mitaka asked, shooting Kylo a nervous look.

“No.” Hux replied airily, “He’s just spectating. Remember Mitaka, in here there are no ranks between us. It would be unfair to the training if there were. You are Mitaka and I am Hux, that is all.”

“Yes Gen-…Hux.”

Kylo’s eyebrows raised at Hux’s words. Hux never put aside his title of General so easily, or Kylo had assumed he wouldn’t. He could only assume it was something Hux did only for Mitaka, and only in this room, to allow Mitaka to train with him without fear of rebuttal if he hurt him. They took up a fighting stance, on a mat in the centre of the otherwise empty room.

Observing Hux, Kylo was confused over the General’s stance. He was stood with his right heel to his left toe, arms held loosely behind his back as if he were surveying an army or giving a speech. It was not the sort of position someone normally took when about to engage in hand to hand combat. His arms were thin, although there was a thin trace of muscle on them, and Kylo was surprised yet again by how lean Hux’s body was. Mitaka’s stance was more fighting style, knees partially bent and legs apart, ready to bounce on the balls of his feet to avoid Hux’s attacks.

They stayed that way for a moment, and Kylo reached out into Hux’s mind to see why neither had moved. Hux was analysing Mitaka. They had fought together many times and Hux knew a lot of his moves, but Mitaka was always changing and adapting, allowing Hux to adapt and change as well. But still, Hux was using small visual cues to tell him what Mitaka was about to do. When Mitaka made the first move, Hux side-stepped it easily, twirling around Mitaka’s back and letting his hand trace the small of Mitaka’s back. This happened many times, Kylo saw. When they trained they barely grazed each other, allowing for little injuries even when it got intense. The small touches were to show where they would have hit had this been a proper fight.

Mitaka went for Hux again, distracting him with an upper body attack and then sliding his leg out along the floor to catch Hux off balance. Hux fell, but rolled out of it right back onto his feet and avoided Mitaka’s second attack. It went on like that for a while. Hux would analyse his opponent, predict his move and avoid it, and then put in a hit of his own, usually somewhere vital that were disable Mitaka. Mitaka himself was a skilled fighter, and a sly fighter, using distraction techniques to overpower Hux. It was a close call, but in the end Hux won, leaving Mitaka sprawled along the mat, panting heavily.

“Well done, Lieutenant,” Hux said, holding out a hand to pull Mitaka to his feet. “For such short notice you set up quite a show.”

“You too General,” Mitaka replied, his breathes coming in short bursts as he tried to still his heart. “I presume the mission went well and you needed to burn off steam?”

“Yes.” Hux nodded, “When I return to the bridge I expect a full report on activity whilst I was gone.”

Mitaka saluted, face red and sweaty, “Yes General Hux.”

It was an order that Mitaka had until Hux had showered and dressed to make himself presentable again on the bridge, and Mitaka wasted no time in leaving for his own rooms to freshen up. Hux gathered up his armour and blaster and made to leave as well. Kylo blocked him.

“Your combat style is strange.”

“Get out of my way, Ren.” Hux snapped, “I don’t want your comments.”

“You’re going to hear them anyway.” Kylo shrugged. Hux sighed a but didn’t speak so Kylo continued. “Where did you learn?”

“In the Academy, where else? Is there a point to this?” Hux asked. He was tired now, and sweaty, and the ’fresher in his room was calling to him now he had gotten his excess energy out of his system. “You never believed I had any combat skills anyway, does it matter to you that much?”

“It’s intriguing,” Kylo admitted. “I want to fight you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Fight me. Train with me. I won’t use the Force. I’ll use my combat training versus yours. I saw how you predicted the moves of your opponent…of Mitaka there. You used visual cues, like when you were tracking and watching Lord. In a real fight someone could over-power you, so you need to be quicker and strike harder than they can to give you a better chance of survival.” Kylo was getting excited, or perhaps he was just enthusiastic about talking of Hux being defeated. The General couldn’t tell but it was grating on him. “I’m stronger than you. Fight me.”

“You won’t leave me alone until I do, will you?” Hux inquired.

“No.” Kylo smirked, “I want to show you, General, that these skills of yours are barely anything compared to true power.”

Hux scoffed, “Oh please. You rely on that Force shit so much that you barely even know the true functions of the body during combat.”

Kylo folded his arms and frowned at Hux. Silence met the insult and Hux stared at Kylo, his left eyebrow twitching in annoyance and a headache starting to build behind his eyes.

“Fine. Let’s fight. No use of the Force, Ren. If I feel it at all I will terminate this fight and you will face some consequences.” Hux gave in. No, he thought to himself, it wasn’t giving in. It was agreeing to a fight with Kylo Ren, who apparently believed he was better than Hux at combat fighting without using the Force because Hux didn’t look the part. Not taking into account that Mitaka was also stronger than him, this was the first time he had seen Hux fight. And he believed he could win. How wrong he was. Hux had to supress a smirk as he replaced his armour back onto the chair.

Kylo was ridding himself of his clothing too, stripping off his ridiculous amount of layers until he was left in a strapped shirt and leggings. The mask was placed on top of the pile of his clothes, leaving Kylo and Hux free to glare at each other eye to eye. Kylo reached into the pocket of his robe and withdrew a small bobble, pulling his hair back off his face and securing it there.

“Do you really expect me to pull your hair?” Hux asked drily.

“I don’t know how dirtily you fight General. Considering your size, I’d say it would be likely.” Kylo replied quickly, flexing his shoulders and back. Hux’s eyes travelled down one arm and then the other, observing the muscles in Kylo’s body with something akin to disinterest.

“There are two rules,” Hux said, his eyes finally finding Kylo’s face again. “Any blows are to be like the match between myself and Mitaka. No real blows, just featherlight touches. And no use of the Force. No mind-reading, no mind-control and no freezing me in place. And absolutely no choke holds. Agreed?”

Kylo nodded, already taking up a place on the mats. Hux stood opposite, his heel and toe together again in a perfect posture. With a flick of his hand Kylo locked the door so they wouldn’t be disturbed and the two got ready for the fight to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading and all the comments and kudos and hits!


	3. Shots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo finds out exactly what sort of person Hux is, and it's not just the boring, studious tactician he's known for years. And Hux gets another chance to go out into the field.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can now check out my own visual for what Hux's sniper outfit looks like [here](http://rannystuffandthings.tumblr.com/post/155041354339/i-wanted-to-get-a-visual-down-for-my-sniperhux-au) on my tumblr. I wanted to draw myself a reference /o/ 
> 
> thanks to everyone for your comments and kudos and hits! you guys all keep me going! enjoy this chapter  
>  ~~//all fight moves in the Kylux training are things I've seen in dance performances and action movies//~~

 

“Are you sure you can stop yourself from using the Force?” Hux quipped as they faced off.

“I can.” Kylo nodded, “And what are you really going to do if I can’t?”

“You wouldn’t know, you’d be dead by the time it happened.” Hux replied swiftly, still in his perfect pose. Kylo could tell even without the Force that Hux was analysing him. What he didn’t realise is that Hux had been analysing Kylo for a while, ever since he had come aboard the Finalizer. This was a brush up for him, trying to decide how Kylo’s style would change without the Force.  
“You barely ever fight without the Force.” Hux murmured, “You’re nervous.”

“Excited,” Kylo corrected, “Not nervous.”

Hux didn’t reply, shifting his weight slightly. Kylo tensed, thinking Hux was about to attack and it grated when the General didn’t move. He didn’t want to be the first to attack, he knew Hux was counting on it as Mitaka had, and would be able to avoid it. But Hux didn’t seem to be making a move, just standing there and examining Kylo. It was rather unnerving. Unable to take it anymore, Kylo lunged, faking right and then diving left to try and get behind Hux.

It didn’t work and Hux turned just as Kylo came up behind him and pressed a light touch to his nose. Kylo growled and fought down the need to use the Force to see what Hux was planning next, bringing his arms up fast and shoving Hux backwards. The General stumbled and opened his mouth to remind Kylo of the light touch rule, but he had to roll out of the way as Kylo came at him again. It was strange to be fighting without relying on the Force and it made Kylo a little bit clumsy, and Hux was quicker than him so it was something he could exploit.

Shaking off all distracting thoughts, Kylo rushed at Hux again, deciding to use brute strength instead of trying to guess what Hux was going to do. Hux didn’t abandon his own technique, and ran towards Kylo as well. Just before they met headfirst, Hux jumped slightly to the side, putting his hands on Kylo’s left shoulder and he vaulted over the dark-haired man, using the momentum to wrap his legs around Kylo’s neck, and Kylo’s own momentum to send him tumbling to the floor. Hux rolled away and came back to his feet while Kylo sprawled across the floor, a little winded from the impact. The leather of Hux’s boots had burnt against his neck, but it was a good feeling, giving Kylo the need to get up and return the favour. He hated to admit it but that had been an impressive move. Hux knew his limits. He was lithe and couldn’t overpower Kylo himself, but using the momentum that Kylo built up proved a successful tactic.

“Are you okay?” Hux taunted, standing perfectly still above him as Kylo went onto his hands and knees and finally clambered back up.

“Fine.” He said, making a show of feeling his neck. Hux watched him, impassive, and Kylo used the shield of his long hair to disguise the next blow, a feather light touch right to Hux’s temple. Hux’s eyes went wide and then he smirked. It was a cruel but excited expression, and he ducked under Kylo’s arm, holding Kylo’s hand and putting extreme pressure down on a sensitive point so Kylo had no choice but to bend his arm backwards to avoid the pain. Hux kicked his legs out from under him but misjudged it and they both ended up going down in a tangle of limbs.

Kylo pushed himself up and found himself hovering over Hux, straddling one of his thighs. The General was flushed and his hair was in disarray and he had never seemed so alive. The Hux that stalked the corridors of the Finalizer was almost machinelike with his perfect plans and time-keeping, but here in the training room Hux seemed to be a completely different person.

_No,_ Kylo told himself, _this person has been in Hux all this time. He just never had a chance to show it before now._

A small touch to the hollow of his throat brought Kylo from his musings again, and another light touch from Hux’s knee to his crotch made him realise just how much of an advantage Hux had despite being lay below Kylo. Grinning, Kylo grabbed Hux by the arms and lifted him to his feet, setting him down for a moment before wrapping his arms around him in a massive hug, trapping Hux against him.

“Argh! Ren let me go!” Hux demanded, struggling as much as he could to no avail. Kylo only released him when Hux brought his knee up again and collided with him a lot more forcefully than the first time. It wasn’t enough to bring tears to Kylo’s eyes, but it definitely shocked him and he loosened his grip. Hux wrestled free and stepped back, eyeing Kylo warily.

“I’ll do it again.” Kylo threatened lightly, “And this time I’ll get you from behind.”

Hux backed away from him, although his pale eyes were darting over Kylo’s body, analysing him again. Kylo kept advancing and eventually Hux hit the wall. It startled him and he turned to look at what it was. Kylo lunged when he did and wrapped his arms around him. He didn’t get as good of a grip this time, but he still managed to pick Hux off his feet. And that was when he realised that cornering Hux had been a bad idea. Hux ran his feet up the wall and he had gotten to an optimal point he pushed away from it with all his strength. Kylo released him in surprise again as he felt himself falling. Hux managed to complete the flip but barely, landing on his toes and finger tips as Kylo went flat on his back. It was tempting to use the Force, to show Hux that if they had been fighting for real, Kylo would have won by now. But he was having fun, Kylo realised, fighting like this, finding out Hux’s true potential as a fighter was fun. It was preferable to the Hux that stuck his nose in a book with a glass of brandy every night.

“Look at you on the floor.” Hux drawled, “Pathetic. Get up Ren. I thought you were combat trained.”

“And I didn’t think you were.” Kylo retorted, pushing himself back to his feet and facing Hux again. He wasn’t in his usual perfect pose this time, but was resting on the balls of his feet, ready to move again as soon as Kylo did.

“There was no reason for you to think I was.” Hux shrugged, “But I’m far from helpless.”

“I could make you helpless.” Kylo warned, “And you know it.”

“Please.” Hux scoffed, “You may have broken the light touch rule within a few seconds, but that is one rule you won’t break.”

Kylo didn’t want to admit Hux was right. Hux had seen how much Kylo was enjoying this and was surprised himself at how much he was enjoying it. They both were. And if Kylo used the Force it would be over because Hux would leave and would not invite Kylo back for another training session. It was hard to keep it swallowed down, but Kylo was determined to succeed.

Hux was examining his nails, pointedly ignoring Kylo as the silence grew between them. Kylo shifted closer to him slowly, and he could tell from the tenseness of Hux’s body that he knew. If Hux could deduce his next move, then Kylo was going to deduce his reaction to it without using the Force. He swept his left arm out at Hux’s head, and true to form Hux knew and ducked underneath it. Kylo went down at the same time, a light touch going to the side of Hux’s face, and his legs kicking out and taking Hux down to the floor. He wasn’t down for long, gracefully getting back to his feet and taking advantage of Kylo’s slower reactions to shove him forward with his boot, onto his knees.

They had moved away from the mats, and Kylo realised that as he jumped upward, dislodging Hux’s foot from his back and upsetting his balance. Hux tumbled backwards towards one of the weightlifting machines against the far wall. Throwing out his hand Kylo stopped Hux’s fall with the Force, suspending the General in the air and moving him away from the machine before letting him drop. Hux made an “oof” sound as he hit the floor and when he had righted himself he glared at Kylo.

“I said no Force.” He snapped.

“I just saved you from cracking your skull!” Kylo exclaimed angrily. Hux glanced behind him and saw the machine behind him.

“Oh.” He said, “Thank you. I believe that will do. I’m tired and I need a shower.”

“Okay.” Kylo agreed, gathering his own clothes and redressing himself. Hux slipped the tunic of his armour back on and fastened it up, before slinging the sniper gun over his shoulder.

“Oh Ren, what was that about teaching me what real power was?” He inquired with a quirked eyebrow.

“If I had used the Force you’d have known.” Kylo replied, “But you said not to, so I didn’t. Good day, General.”

He slid his helmet back on and left the room. Hux left after him, walking briskly to his rooms. He had almost forgotten that Snoke had said a reward would be waiting for him, and when he entered his rooms and saw a brand-new bottle of Arkanis’ best whiskey, a favourite of his, sitting on the desk he panicked for a moment. Shaking his head and heading straight into his refresher, Hux folding his tunic and armour neatly on the chair before completely stripping off and stepping into the shower. The hot water washing over him relaxed Hux’s muscles instantly, but also brought forward the bruises blooming where Kylo had shoved him.

Hux sighed and stretched, letting the water wash the sweat from his body and the gel from his hair. It was good to be back where he belonged on the Finalizer, but there was also a part of him, a very small part, that was excited to get another mission from Snoke. Tilting his head up into the spray, Hux’s right index finger twitched out of reflex at the thought. He didn’t give himself much time to think about it, forcing the thoughts out and focusing on washing himself instead. Wrapped in a towel he stepped out into his rooms and grabbed his Datapad, seeing a seemingly endless list of notifications that had been sent through since he had returned. Hux sank onto his sofa and pulled a blanket over his legs and chest so he could go through the reports before he got dressed and went back to the bridge.

When Hux strode onto the bridge, immaculately dressed in his great coat, his hair dried and styled perfectly as always, Kylo was already there, lurking and making his staff feel incredibly nervous. Hux approached him without a qualm. Standing side by side on the bridge they were back to being General Hux and Kylo Ren. It was almost as if the training session hadn’t happened, but the ache in Hux’s shoulder and the leather burn on Kylo’s neck reminded them it had. Mitaka approached Hux and started to run through everything that had happened whilst Hux had been gone, and what the General needed to do. Kylo was there to do a little digging with the Force and see what Hux was thinking.

Their training session had shown Kylo a side he had never known someone like Hux could possess. It made him want to see Hux in action, outside of a small training room, in a desperate and life threatening situation. His senses would be even more heightened and woe betide any enemy that got in his way. The smirk, excited and cruel, was still at the back of Kylo’s mind, and since Hux was ignoring him, Kylo decided to use the opportunity to have a poke around.

Hux wasn’t thinking about sniping, or fighting, or Kylo. He was thinking about the Finalizer, and the jobs that needed doing, and when he would get time to do them all. He was perfecting a plan to use his time as best he could and Kylo withdrew immediately. The boring Hux was back. Was that mean? Kylo mused. To think of one Hux as boring and another as exciting? It wasn’t like he was actually a different person but Kylo had never been this interested before. He jumped when Hux brushed past him, a light touch to his stomach as the General stalked back, talking into his Commlink. He had been summoned to a different part of the ship and had walked unnecessarily close to Kylo to get out of the bridge. Kylo watched him go in disbelief. Their training session clearly hadn’t ended then, he grinned under his helmet. A quick scan of Hux’s mind confirmed that the General was thinking the same thing.

It came as a disappointment to Kylo – surprisingly – that Snoke had decided at that point to send him on a mission. He already had his own planned, to beat Hux at his own game without using the Force. The light brush from the bridge had been a challenge for Kylo, to get Hux back without using a power that Hux himself couldn’t. If Snoke knew how Kylo felt, he didn’t show it.

“Inform General Hux that you are leaving and go immediately.” The Supreme Leader ordered. “We need the information you can find on that planet.”

“Yes, master.” Kylo bowed, remaining with his head down until Snoke had disappeared. Hux was somewhere in the bowels of the Finalizer, looking over some sort of technical problem, and Kylo located him quickly using the Force and strode to find him.   
“General Hux,” He announced his presence loudly and Hux turned to him with a sigh and a roll of his eyes.

“Yes Ren?”

“I have orders from the Supreme Leader.” Kylo replied, “A mission for myself. I will be preparing my shuttle ad leaving immediately.”

“Do it then,” Hux said dismissively, shooing Kylo away with a small flick of his wrist. Kylo reached out and brushed against Hux’s wrist, making him jump slightly and glare at him. Glad to at least have gotten one hit in before leaving, Kylo turned to leave. He needed to go to his rooms and get a few supplies before leaving. Hopefully this mission was an easy one and when he returned he could convince Hux to help him blow off steam with another training session. Hux watched him go, arms folded as a technician held out a list of parts they would need to fix the problem.

“We have most of these on board.” Hux said, “Get some of your men to the store room.”

“Yes General.” The technician saluted and hurried off.

Hux returned to the bridge, getting to the viewing platform just before Kylo’s shuttle soared past, looking just as ridiculous as it always had in Hux’s opinion. It couldn’t have been better really, he had the Finalizer back and Kylo was gone, meaning that there would be no destruction of property, no petty arguments, and no pounding headaches from Kylo constantly dipping in and out of his mind with the Force. Thinking of having a glass of the Arkanisen whiskey when he finished his shift, Hux pulled out a Datapad and began flicking through the new reports that had come through, smiling to himself.

\--

Three weeks later when Snoke called Hux in for a private meeting, Hux knew that he was going to be sent to look for Kylo. It wasn’t strange for Kylo to be gone for so long, but clearly Snoke had sensed something that concerned him.

“He has gone to Akiva for me.” Snoke didn’t specify exactly where on the planet Kylo was and Hux knew even if he asked he wouldn’t get a clear answer.

“In the Outer Rim?” Hux clarified, “Perhaps he is just delayed getting back?”

“No,” Snoke disagreed, “I have felt the disturbance through the Force. He will need your help soon.”

“I could send troops to him, Supreme Leader, my place is-.”

“Somewhere between the Finalizer and the field.” Snoke finished for him. “You will do this General. I will not trust Kylo Ren in the hands of anyone lower than you.”

Several arguments about how capable the men trained under his regimes were passed through Hux’s mind but he bit his tongue and merely saluted to Snoke and left the chamber. Reaching for his Commlink as he walked towards the bridge, Hux went straight through to Phasma.

“ _Yes General?”_

“Assemble the SU division in the Hangar Bay Captain.” Hux ordered.

“ _Of course General.”_

Hanging up before the conversation could go any further, Hux strode forward onto the bridge and summoned Mitaka up to him with a wave of his hand.

“I am being sent to retrieve Kylo Ren by the Supreme Leader.” Hux explained quietly, “Whilst I am gone you will work with Captain Phasma to keep the Finalizer running as normal.”

“When do you leave, General?” Mitaka asked, his cheeks flushing a little at the news Hux trusted him enough to keep order aboard the Finalizer in his absence.

“We will move the Finalizer to the edge of the Outer Rim, and then I shall leave aboard a shuttle.” Hux decided. If Kylo was injured then having the Finalizer closer would be better for him. If not, then it was better for Hux because it meant being able to get back to his command quicker.  
“It should take around three days for us to get to position. I will brief the main officer crew and assign correct work to you, Lieutenant.”

Mitaka saluted and nodded, “I will make sure everything is done by the time you return General.”

“Focus on your own work for now, Lieutenant I’m not gone yet. Give the coordinates for the Outer Rim and get us there as quickly as possible.” Hux admonished, leaving Mitaka standing at the back of the bridge and striding off to the Hangar Bay. The SU unit would be waiting there for him, ready for a brief and they could plan and try to find where on the planet Kylo was.

Trigger was the first one he saw, followed by Techie and then 002 through to 005. Phasma was stood with them too, and although Hux couldn’t see her face he knew she was looking at him with a questioning expression, wondering why Hux needed the sniper unit again.

“General Hux!” Trigger spoke loudly, alerting the other Troopers to his presence and they saluted as he approached.

“Come with me.” Hux said, turning with a sweep of his arm to show where he would be walking. He had been doing that a lot, Hux told himself, using his hands while he was talking. It was a habit from his younger years, something his father had not approved of. Words should be enough for someone as powerful as Hux, but he still reverted to the habit from time to time. The SU division followed him into a meeting room just off the Hangar Bay. It was small but they all managed to fit, just.

“The Supreme Leader has given us another mission.” Hux began explaining as soon as the door shut. Trigger looked at 002 before refocusing on Hux. “Kylo Ren left this ship to go to on an undisclosed mission planet side on Akiva. He has not returned and the Supreme Leader has sensed a problem has occurred. He has ordered that I go and bring him back.”

“Did he ask for us, too?” Trigger inquired. “Sorry for interrupting General.”

“No. I did that personally. You are a good division and if my skills are needed, I’d like to take a unit with me that have the same skills.” Hux replied.

“Understood, General.” Trigger agreed.

Phasma stood forward now, looking from Trigger to Techie and Hux could she was unimpressed.

“The way you speak to the General is disconcerting.” She said, “You have been trained not to question orders.”

“It’s fine, Captain. The sniper training regime is slightly different.” Hux spoke before Trigger could. “We try to promote comradery between the ranks. You are going to spend intimate moments with these soldiers, and you need to trust them implicitly. It’s why they all have nicknames.”

His training had been the same, but Hux had been against teamwork. He could survive alone, he didn’t need the support of anyone else from his class and he had proven it by being the only one of his age group to complete the sniper training course. Running his eyes along the line of Stormtrooper visors in front of him, Hux folded his arms.

“SU division, remove your helmets.” He ordered.

Phasma turned to him in shock. The others seemed shocked too, but moved to obey. Trigger went first, followed by Techie. The others were less inclined but did so anyway. Hux found himself faced with four men and two women.

“Tell me your nicknames.” He stated, “Trigger and Techie I know. The others, please.”

“I will,” Trigger replied, “This is Barrel. Strong and tall but just as good as the rest of us.” He indicated the woman standing next to him, helmet resting on her hip, focused on a spot just to the left of Hux’s shoulder. She was 005, and had only just joined, Hux decided. She still stood like a regular Stormtrooper and seemed less inclined to break protocol.   
“Next to her are Scope, Recoil and Magazine.”

Hux had to supress a laugh when he had heard all their names. They were 002, 003 and 004 respectively. Scope was the other woman and was stood to attention but seemed a lot more relaxed about removing her helmet, as Trigger did. Recoil and Magazine had neutral expressions and stances, although Hux could see the shine in their eyes that told him they were glad to have their faces free as well.

“Part of a rifle? Is there any particular reason?” He asked. Phasma looked intrigued as well. She had no part of the sniper training programme and to her this seemed like a large breach of protocol. The Stormtroopers had their designated numbers, and that was the closest thing to a name they had. But it was different for the Snipers. There were only six of them, and Hux knew that at least twenty had been put forward for the programme this year alone. Their loyalty to the First Order was second to none, they just had a different mentality than the majority of Stormtroopers and that allowed them a little less anonymity.

“It’s to do with the job, General.” Trigger replied. “We all have aspects we’re better at, or things that we’re proud of. We already have names. I’m SU-001. We are part of the machine of the First Order, as any other Stormtrooper is, but with nicknames we can also distance ourselves. You understand, don’t you General?”

“I do.” Hux confirmed, “Having a nickname allows you both isolation from the main body of the Stormtroopers, but also anchors you to your job. So, let me see if I have this right. Scope has the best eyesight, and is the best with peripheral vision as well, allowing her to be the best lookout both above and on the ground?”

“Yes General!” Scope saluted as Hux spoke and replacing her helmet.

Hux smirked. Phasma still looked perplexed.

“Recoil hits the hardest. The strongest weapon of the group, the most dangerous bullets and in a physical fight, the one you’re going to remember.” Hux continued.

“Yes General!” Recoil did the same as Scope had done, saluting Hux and replacing his helmet.

“Barrel as you said, is strong and tall but still stealthy. She comes in handy for any physical fights you get in, and is also misjudged as a woman and it’s assumed she’s not strong. Magazine carries the ammunition, but he also modifies it. Makes sure it hits harder, maybe can take out two targets at once if the shot is lined up perfectly. Improvises if he needs to.” Hux watched them both salute and agree, replacing their helmets in unison.  
“Techie I’ve already met and understand.” Hux turned his eyes to the Trooper at the door. He looked nervous and accidently met Hux’s eyes. As soon as he did he looked away, staring at the wall as if he could burn a hole in it. “Blueprints, maps, secret files that need to be downloaded or destroyed, he’s the man for the job. And he’s the newest addition.”

“Yes General!” Techie exclaimed a little louder than necessary and gladly replaced his helmet.

“And you, Trigger. The first of the SU division, with the most kills under your belt and the default killer of the group.” Hux finished with Trigger, who grinned and nodded, replacing his helmet and saluting.

“And we all know what you were called when you were training, General.” He said as Hux went to turn back to Techie. “Sha-.”

“Do not!” Hux hissed, “Say that name. You are to call me General and nothing else. It is not my name, therefore it will be perfect.”

“Yes General.” Trigger stood straight backed and kept his mouth shut, waiting for Hux to speak.

“And this is not…a problem?” Phasma asked, putting her thought in before Hux could. “The way they talk? And act? It’s different.”

“You do not walk around as a normal Stormtrooper either, Captain.” Hux pointed out, “Being a sniper is an intimate and careful business. You need an escape from it, and that is your name. Nicknames are for the job only.”

“I suspect I would have heard if they were breaking protocol, General.” Phasma nodded, “You wouldn’t have kept them in the room.”

“No I wouldn’t. The training is slightly different as I said, Captain, so they actually have some more personality. It’s needed. We need people who can make a judgement call, and not have to be told exactly what to do. Now, we should get back to discussing Ren.”

Phasma nodded. Hux pulled out his Datapad, putting it down on the table and sliding it over to where Techie was standing.

“As I said we don’t know where he is on the planet. That is our first objective. Techie, I need you to find out what is on Akiva that could interest the Supreme Leader so much.” Hux ordered, “As for the rest of you, Akiva is a planet with a hot climate, but it is also full of jungles. If Ren is within any of them, it can be quite humid so we will need to gather rifles and blasters that can work in that environment. I also need you to research the wildlife in the area, to make sure we’re not walking into danger.”

“We have the right guns for it General.” Magazine said in a clipped tone, “And ammunition.”

“Good. Gather it. When we reach the Outer Rim we will be leaving via shuttle. An unmarked shuttle, as Akiva is known to be an ally of the New Republic.” Hux dismissed the SU division and they all filed out, Techie’s nose buried in the Datapad.

When they had all gone, Phasma considered Hux. “Do you have any idea why the Supreme Leader would send Lord Ren to Akiva? It’s enemy territory.”

“Isn’t that the best place to send Ren?” Hux replied, “He certainly would strike a nerve with the Republic if he showed up in their territory. But no, I digress, I do have an idea. When the Battle of Endor failed the Empire held an emergency meeting just above Akiva, but there were rumours they landed on the planet. There could be something there that the Supreme Leader wants.”

“And he’s sending you? Into enemy territory.” Phasma folded her arms, “Why?”

“Apparently he doesn’t trust anyone else but me.” Hux said evenly, “Whatever his motivation, those are his orders. I have already spoken to Lieutenant Mitaka. In my absence you and he will be in charge. Mostly you though I believe. Now, excuse me Captain but I have an Order to run whilst I’m still here.”

Phasma nodded and stepped backwards so Hux could leave the room. He needed to set down a plan, a plan for Mitaka and for Phasma as well. The reports he had been going through for the last three weeks would have to wait for him to come back, as they needed Hux’s personal signature, but there was plenty of other work to do, there were always new missions, new training regiments, new farming for Stormtrooper recruits.

And when he found Ren, Hux was going to make him sorry for messing this up and disrupting the Finalizer yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The SU unit nicknames   
> 001 - Trigger  
> 002 - Scope   
> 003 - Recoil  
> 004 - Magazine  
> 005 - Barrel  
> 006 - Techie ~~a reference to Clan Techie? who knows \o/~~
> 
> thanks for reading ^o^


	4. Scope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rain is a good plot device.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the longest chapter lmao but it's full of action and some bonding and stuff like that so it's a good one I think /o/

 

By the time the Finalizer reached Hux’s desired destination on the very edge of the Outer Rim, he had made a complete plan to be followed while he wasn’t on board.

Techie had also identified where Kylo could have been on the planet, and had managed to retrieve old plan designs of the building.

“It probably isn’t done like this inside,” He said as he called the holograms up from the Datapad to show Hux and the SU division. “These are just architect drawings, but it gives us a rough idea.”

“What is it?” Trigger asked.

“An old abandoned building used by the Empire. Or believed to be anyway.” Techie explained. “It’s mostly unknown except by those who live in the area, as it’s in thick jungle. So if Lord Ren has gone anywhere it’s most likely there.”

“It will be hard to get to,” Hux mused. He pulled up a map of Akiva, including the terrain and marked the map with a quick circle at where the building was supposed to be. “We cannot land anywhere near it unless we find a clearing. And hiking will take too long. If Ren needs our help we need to be swift.”

“I have a suggestion,” Techie said quietly, “We could rewire some of the TIE fighters, remove the part of their engine that gives them that particular hum when they fly, and paint them to look as if they were salvaged from wreckages from First Order battles. Or cloak them entirely. That way, we can land in the jungle where the foliage is thinner.”

“And a TIE fighter can take two people,” Hux nodded, “It’s definitely an option.”

“They’re fast as well.” Techie supplied, “And not as detectable.”

“You’d have to be piloted there. Only the Special Forces are allowed to fly the TIE fighters that allow two people to be seated in.” Hux said, “It’s the best idea we’ve got for going in and getting as close as we can, and considering the advanced capability of the TIE fighter, we could exit them without them having to land.”

“But General, someone would have to fly one themselves in order for Lord Ren to have a space when we return.” Trigger put in.

“I will fly it.” Hux replied as if it were obvious. “I have had pilot training as well before I was trained as a sniper.”

“We’d need to land.” Techie said, bringing the discussion back to the logistics of getting onto the planet, “If we needed a quick escape we couldn’t wait for the TIE fighters to come back for us.”

“According to these plans,” Scope chipped in, “There’s a landing bay just outside the building. If we do take the noise out of the fighters, we can land there and cloak them.”

“Well spotted.” Hux appraised. “I will speak with the Special Forces and get six skilled pilots to take you there. And seven TIE fighters modified so they no longer make a sound. Ren went in his ridiculous ship, so it’s likely some people know the First Order are around. We can cloak, but we will not modify the ships any further than we need to.”

“Yes General.” The SU division all saluted.

Hux turned back to the plans. “We shall give ourselves a basic plan in case the building does look like this. Ren has a tracking chip in his belt, unbeknownst to him, and we can find him once we’re in the building. 002, 003, 005, you shall be on the perimeter, as you were on our last mission. Keep your eyes out for strangers and scout the surrounding areas. Find good positions to set yourselves up and make sure you’ve covered. We’re assuming our Commlinks will work in this building, so if you see anything notify us. 004, you’re on the perimeter as well, setting up traps if necessary and making sure you block any points that can be used to trap us instead. When that’s done, join the perimeter defence but stay within the trees, allowing a wider view of the area. 001 and 006 will come inside with me. We find high ground if we can to use to get around the building.” Hux paused, making sure the Troopers were following and glad to see they all were. “We’re trained in combat, but our main skills are for sniping and the Supreme Leader is sure our skills will be needed.”

“Understood, General.” Trigger said, “We’ve got the tropical weapons prepared. All we need now is the transport.”

“That will be ready shortly,” Hux nodded. “Get your armour on and close combat weapons as well as your guns. We shall be leaving as soon as the TIE fighters are ready.”

He swept from the room before them, leaving Techie to clear the holograms and the others to gather their weapons and proper uniforms. Hux strode back to his rooms quickly, needing to change from his General’s uniform into his snipers one. He was taking close combat weaponry as well, so he strapped a modified stun baton to one thigh and a knife, silent but deadly, onto his other. The rest of the uniform was the same. His sniper rifle was held on the coffee table for Hux had not been able to bring himself to put it away. It was designed specifically for him, and Hux had been told it would survive and work in any climate. He was taking it, but he had also ordered for spare weapons to be included, and he would take one of them if he needed it as well. Fully dressed and ready to leave, Hux secured his portable Commlink to his ear and exited his rooms, locking them behind him.

It was surprisingly easy to get six Special Force members gathered and ready to fly to Akiva. It was even easier to modify the TIE fighters. Hux vaguely remembered there being a plan thrown around to have the iconic nose silenced in some TIE fighters, allowing them for stealthier use, and clearly someone had been working on perfecting that idea. There were ten such TIE fighters aboard the Finalizer.

Climbing into the cockpit Hux felt nervousness gather in his belly. It had been a while since he had flown, and this was an SF model of fighter, meaning it moved at the lightest touch. Still, he couldn’t risk bringing more pilots than he needed, and Kylo needed a way back.

“ _General.”_ One of the Special Force Troopers came through the comms on the ship. “ _We are ready for take-off.”_

“Alright. Launch.” Hux ordered.

He flipped a few switches first, remembering to release the fighter from its holding bay before engaging the engines. The six Special Forces flown fighters went first and Hux followed. The fighter hummed softly as it launched, but it was nowhere near the iconic noise normally heard from the TIE model. It gave Hux a good feeling, as he followed the Special Forces towards Akiva.

It wasn’t easy to get the hang of the SF model, but Hux flew steady and had already ordered no use of the hyperdrives that the ships were installed with. They were close to Akiva, and they couldn’t risk coming out of lightspeed into a trap. The SU division were talking quietly amongst themselves, reminding each other of their specific orders, and discussing where they would set up on the perimeter. Hux concentrated on flying. It was a smooth flight, the only thing bothering him that if they were set upon and attacked he would have to concentrate on flying and shooting and not getting hit. It was a little nerve-wracking, Hux had to admit to himself, but it was something he would do regardless because he didn’t intend to die just yet.

Landing on Akiva didn’t prove too difficult either. As Scope had pointed out there was a landing strip before the building, easily spotted from swooping down towards the location of the building. Hux had had one of the TIE fighters scout ahead, and they had reported back that there were no settlements nearby in any direction, meaning the only way they would be spotted was if someone knew they were coming. The landing did not go as smoothly as the flight, and Hux knew that the other pilots would have seen how shakily he brought the TIE fighter down, but no one mentioned it and the SU division were too busy unloading their weapons.

“Wait with your ships.” Hux ordered the pilots, “We are leaving as soon as we have found Ren, so make sure you are prepared. Set them to be cloaked, we will contact you when we are on our way.”

“Yes General.”

Hux set his own ship to cloaked status and climbed down. The planet was hot, as he knew it would be. Coming to hot climates made him regret the choice in colour and material for First Order clothing, but he did not complain, merely shouldered his rifle and stalked off into the trees.

He first sensed something wrong when they were about to come upon the building. He signalled for the others to stop and fan out, and then proceed with caution. As they came toward the edge of the treeline they saw that the building itself was in ruins. There was an opening and a staircase leading down into what must have been a basement, but there was a large, strange looking stone over the top of it.

“ _What do we do now, General?”_ Trigger’s voice came quietly through the Commlink.

“Retreat for now, we can’t risk being overheard. There’s clearly someone else here.” Hux replied.

They reconvened beneath a rather bent and gnarled trunk that kept them shielded from most sides. It was an unexpected setback but Hux was already formulating another plan.

“Ren will be inside, and someone has trapped him in.” He said confidently, “Now there are two possible options. That stone is either laced with or made from some sort of Force resistant material which is why he can’t move it. Or, Ren is hurt and too weak to use the Force. Either way, we need to get that stone moved.”

“General. I’m sure you’ve noticed the people?” Scope inquired.

“I have.” Hux confirmed. “They are hiding on the other side of the treeline, which is lucky for us and unlucky for them. So, the plan now has changed. We go up, into the trees. They are not hard to climb, and the branches are thick enough to give us a good base for shooting. Take as many out as you can when I give the order. Myself and 005 will then go and move the stone and I will go inside to find Ren. 005 you will then return to the treeline and you will cover until I come back. Or kill them all and then wait for me, whichever comes first.”

“General, permission to speak, please?” Trigger said.

“Granted.”

“You are too important a person to be doing such a dangerous job.” Trigger stated, “We should send in someone else.”

"If Ren has been trapped, or injured, for days, he will cut down a strange without hesitation.” Hux explained. “He will not hurt me. And if he tries to, I am not afraid to shoot him.”

Trigger offered no further argument. “Let’s move out.” Hux ordered.

He and Barrel took off back towards the treeline, on the ground but making sure they were covered as well. The others spread out again, finding suitable trees and quietly climbing them. Hux picked the best spot for running to the stone and getting it off, the shortest route and the best angle. Barrel waited by his side, back straight and weapon in her hands.

“Put it on your back.” He ordered her.

“General?”

“You will need your hands free to help me.” Hux said, “So put your weapon on your back.”

She did as she was ordered as messages started coming through the Commlinks that the others were in position, all had a clear shot on a personal target and were ready to go.

“Fire.” He muttered.

There was barely any sound, or flash, as the guns went off, but a cry went up from the other side of the trees as those who had been lying in wait went down and their comrades realised they were under attack. They did not exit the treeline, but peered around to see if they could find someone opposite them. Hux waited, counting the processes for lining up a second shot. As his Troopers were about to pull the trigger, he ran forward, followed by Barrel, straight to the stone. They heaved it together, pushing it back bit by bit until there was enough uncovered for Hux to fit through. So far, the plan was working.

“Return to the trees, 005 and find a suitable spot.” Hux ordered as some of the men hiding in the trees realised what was happening and had started forward. Hux paid them no mind, for all three were dead before they could bring up their guns.

Inside the basement it was cool, a relief from the humid temperature on the surface. It was also dark and it took Hux’s eyes a moment to adjust. He pulled out the small tracking device and switched it on. Kylo was further in, and Hux proceeded carefully, his hand hovering over his stun baton as he trod the halls trying to locate him. There was a slight sound to his left, and Hux leapt swiftly to the side, just avoiding a blaster bolt aimed right at him. There were men inside as well, seemingly guarding a door. The tracking device said Kylo was inside. Luckily the corridor was a crossroads, and Hux had a wall to take cover behind as he quickly pulled a smaller blaster from a holster on his back and charged it.

Closing his eyes he listened for the movements of the men, waited for them to stop firing blindly before he turned the corner. Two shots, both to the centre of their foreheads, brought them down. Whoever these people where, they were not professionals and had no idea what they were doing, if the blind firing was any indication. Hux’s second clue was when the door opened and another man came out.They would have been safer to stay behind the previously locked door, even if the other men were killed outside it. Without warning Hux shot him. His aim was a little off this time, but the man went down immediately. Rushing the door, Hux forced it open before anyone else inside could slam it shut.

He was faced with two more men. Only one was armed, so Hux took him out with another shot to the head, easily. The last man moved slowly, as if he had been taken by surprise and was hoping this was all some sort of joke. Hux levelled his blaster and it suddenly became real to the man. He dived for the weapon dropped by his colleague and aimed at Hux haphazardly. Hux dived out of the way and withdrew his stun baton. He had modified it to produce stronger shocks, demobilising a target and causing extreme damage if used in a soft and vital area. He flicked the switch on, causing the baton to thrum with electricity. The man eyed it warily, blaster still focused on Hux.

They waited, the man seemingly confused as to why Hux wasn’t attacking and Hux taking a moment to get used to his surroundings, and to the man’s movements. If Hux moved, he would fire. When he fired, he did so with only one hand and it showed he was not used to holding a gun with only one hand. It knocked him slightly off-balance, which gave Hux the exact opening he would need to take him down. Hux feigned right and the man fired. In the seconds he had Hux launched himself at the man, bringing the baton up with a sickening crunch into the man’s nose. He pressed the trigger to release the pent-up electricity and the screams that filled the chamber were loud. Hux rammed the baton into his throat to shut him up, the electricity still live on it, and there was a wet frying sound as the heat cooked the man’s throat and tongue. He choked, spasming as he went to the floor. Bringing his blaster back to his hands, Hux pressed his back against the doorframe and glanced down the corridors to see if reinforcements were coming. It was all quiet, so he decided to finally focus on Kylo.

He was sitting at the far end of the wall, helmet off and tossed aside and mouth open in shock. There was a strange glowing band tying his hands together, and Hux moved to take that off first. When he did, Kylo gasped and fell forward. He was injured, there was blood on his forehead and his robes.

“Hux, please destroy…those things!” Kylo requested through gritted teeth. Hux tossed the handcuffs away and blasted them. Kylo sighed in relief and pushed himself unsteadily to his feet, collecting his helmet as he did and putting it on.. “What are you doing here?”

“Leader Snoke sent me.” Hux replied, “He felt a disturbance around you.”

“It was those.” Kylo nodded at the smouldering ashes of whatever had been binding him. “They are Force suppressants.”

“I assumed there would be something like that involved.” Hux moved quickly forward as Kylo stumbled to the side, supporting his weight by sliding his free arm under Kylo’s and around his back. “Come on. The SU division is outside, all the men attacking should be dead.”

“I…that was an impressive entrance.” Kylo muttered, his speech slightly slurred. Hux frowned. That didn’t seem right. Had he sustained an extremely bad head injury that Hux couldn’t see? He had no idea how long Kylo had been held for, and he could only assume that being cut off from the Force was like being cut off from air. It was so natural to someone like Kylo that being without it would be traumatic.

“We can discuss what happened and my efforts to rescue you when we’ve gotten you looked at by a medic.” Hux snapped, holding his blaster slightly in front of himself and to the side as he led Kylo from the room. Kylo could walk, although he leaned pretty heavily on Hux when doing so, and to his relief Hux found the path back up to the surface was free of any other men.

Upon exiting the basement he found a circle of dead men around it, all shot with perfect accuracy. There were no more shots happening, meaning that the enemies were all dead. Trigger and Barrel ran forward when they spotted him.

“They’re all dead General but we think we heard them call for reinforcements.” Trigger said hurriedly, “So we should go.”

“Was there anything of importance down there Ren?” Hux asked, shifting a little so Kylo was jolted, making sure he heard the question. He shook his head mutely. “I agree then, 001. Let’s head back.”

“Do you need help with Lord Ren?” Barrel inquired.

“No. Get back to the ships and get ready to go.” Hux ordered. The SU division nodded and hurried off. Trigger and Scope stayed behind to cover Hux as he moved as fast as he could with Kylo leaning on him. The further away from the building they got the stronger Kylo got and soon he was walking on his own, although he kept his position of being able to lean on Hux if he needed to. Trigger and Scope walked them to their TIE fighter before rushing to their own. Hux pushed Kylo into the fighter first before following and settling into the pilot seat.

“TIE fighters?” Kylo asked, “And silent ones?” He added as the six others took off and sped away from Akiva.

“We had to take in to account that Akiva was mostly jungle, and this was where you were most likely to be.” Hux replied airily, “Now fasten yourself in Ren.”

“Wait.” Kylo said suddenly, “My ship is here still, we need to go and get it.”

Hux cursed, but he knew Ren was right. They couldn’t leave the Upsilon-class shuttle on Akiva, where the Resistance or the Republic may be able to get hold of it.

“Where did you land?” Hux demanded.

“South,” Kylo said, “I didn’t have the luxury of knowing there was a landing strip.”

“You have a head injury, I don’t trust you to fly a shuttle.” Hux mused. “Is there a settlement near where you landed?”

“No. Nothing around for miles, I made sure of it.” Kylo replied, confused by the line of questioning.

Hux ignored it for now. “Special Forces Leader, this is General Hux.”

“ _At your command, General.”_

“Lord Ren has left his shuttle down on Akiva, and we cannot leave it behind. We are going to retrieve it. Return the SU Trooper division to the Finalizer, and then send two of your men in one SF model fighter to come and retrieve the one I am currently piloting. Ren and myself will then return in the shuttle.”

“ _As you wish, General. Permission to use hyperdrive?”_

“At your discretion,” Hux agreed.

“I can fly a ship.” Kylo argued when Hux had silenced the comm. “The injury is superficial.”

“I’ll believe that when I’ve had a proper chance to see it. I’m taking us into the air, tell me where I need to go.” Hux dismissed Kylo’s words easily and managed to smoothly lift the TIE fighter up.

“South, I’ll tell you when you’re getting close.” Kylo said, “Just stay close to the ground.”

“You do realise that affects the tracking on these fighters?” Hux inquired, “So you better hope we don’t need it.”

“Just focus on flying, Hux.” Kylo retorted, “There’s no one around I’d be able to sense them.”

Hux didn’t reply, giving the fighter’s controls a rather sharp tug to the left. Kylo hadn’t strapped himself in and he nearly went headfirst into the control panel next to him, only stopping himself by grabbing the edges of his seat. He growled something vague at Hux, but the General ignored him again and guided the fighter south at Kylo’s instruction. The jungle of Akiva flew away beneath them, and Hux cursed himself for not taking Kylo’s shuttle into consideration when he had made his plan. If the men who had attacked Kylo were sending reinforcements, they could potentially stumble over Kylo’s shuttle, and Hux would have to kill them. Or Kylo could kill them, at that point it wouldn’t really matter.

“Slow down and come down General, we’re nearing the clearing.” Kylo’s voice broke he thought train and Hux did as he said, slowing the fighter down with a gentle touch and sloping downward. The tall wings of Kylo’s shuttle came into view and Hux landed the fighter next to the shuttle quickly, with only a small wobble.  
“I didn’t know you could fly a TIE fighter,” Kylo said as he climbed out, tripping over himself in his haste.

“I’m sure we’ve already established there are a lot of things about me you don’t know.” Hux’s response was light, but Kylo still frowned. He made to cross to his shuttle but Hux put a hand on his arm to stop him.   
“We need to get into the tree cover.” He murmured, “Now. Make for that tree.” His eyes had picked out a tree on the edge of the small clearing with large, thick foliage.

Kylo frowned, but when he reached out with the Force he realised what Hux had sensed. People were coming this way, perhaps foragers in the jungles that had seen the TIE fighter approaching. Hux was already moving, taking a position behind the tree and glancing up at the branches. It looked relatively easy to climb. He turned to glance at Kylo and saw he was getting ready to ignite his Lightsaber. Hux put his hand across the top as Kylo’s thumb hovered over the button and Kylo only just managed to pull back and not impale Hux’s hand with the blade.

“What are you doing?!”

“If you ignite that thing they’ll hear us, it’s not exactly quiet!” Hux hissed. He looked over Kylo, assessing how injured he was without being able to see his body. Kylo was favouring his left side, and he still seemed to be getting his Force senses back as he still looked a little groggy. He was strong enough to stand and walk and clearly thought he was strong enough to fight.

“Can you climb?” Hux asked.

“Probably but why?”

“We’re going up.” Hux said, jerking his chin up at the tree. Kylo looked up at it dubiously, unsure of Hux’s plan. Hux had no time to explain it, if he wanted to know then Kylo would just have to go into his head and find out himself.

“Move, Ren. We need to get off the ground.” Hux ordered. He began climbing the tree, grimly testing the branches as he went and trying to find a suitable one. The rustle of leaves below him told Hux that Kylo was listening to him and climbing as well.

Hux only stopped when he came upon a relatively thick branch that was completely surrounded by foliage. They were both wearing black, and though Hux has camouflage gear he didn’t have it on him, so the thick leaves were a good cover foe them. Kylo pulled himself onto the branch with his face pinched in pain, settling down as Hux pulled his rifle off his back and began setting it up. Kylo watched him.

“What?” Hux asked.

“We could have gotten on the shuttle and left.” Kylo replied.

“We can’t leave the TIE fighter. I will not have one fall into enemy hands.” Hux stated as if it were obvious. And it was. Kylo had been in the shuttle when Hux had told the SF leader to send men back for the extra TIE fighter. “And if you’re thinking we could have ambushed them, we don’t know how many there are. Or I don’t anyway, since I don’t have the Force.”

“So now what?” Kylo inquired in annoyance.

“You sit quietly and let me work.”

Turning back to his gun, Hux attached the scope and a magazine to the rifle, before turning his attention to the foliage. While it was good for hiding them, it would have to be rearranged in order for Hux to get a clear view. Kylo sat and watched as Hux carefully moved the leaves, leant against the trunk and levelled his rifle. Reaching out with the Force, Kylo could sense the men were almost upon their ships.

“This is a First Order ship!” A gruff voice reached them, muffled slightly because of the leaves. Hux shifted forward slightly, the muzzle of the rifle poking slightly through the leaves and breathed out lightly. He pulled the trigger before anyone else could speak, and the first man was dead before he hit the ground. Hux moved to the right and fired again. Shouts of “we’re under attack!” came up and Kylo’s hands itched to help, but he knew Hux was right. If he ignited his ‘saber they would reveal their position, and as they were the strangers didn’t know where they were.

“Find them! Find the-.”

Hux silenced the men every time they shouted with a direct shot to head. Kylo parted the leaves a little bit so he could see too, and the precision with which Hux shot was astounding, but typical of Hux. Finally they were all dead, and Hux lowered the rifle from his shoulder and breathed out harshly through his nose.

“Is it safe to go down?” He asked.

Kylo scanned the surrounding area and found it empty for miles. The people who had happened upon their ships were the only people around.

“We’re clear.” He confirmed.

“Good.” Hux shouldered his rifle and began to climb down. “Let’s get to your shuttle and get you looked at. Do you have a medkit?”

“Probably?” Kylo guessed, “It’s not my top priority.”

Hux didn’t say anything, reaching the jungle floor before Kylo and striding out to the Upsilon ship. The ship’s ramp came down when Hux pressed the control panel on the underside, and he walked up it and located the medkit almost immediately. Kylo came up behind him.

“I’m fine Hux.” He said.

“I’ll be the judge of that. Now strip while I send our coordinates to the Finalizer.” Hux ordered, setting the medkit down.

Kylo grumbled but did as he was told, slowly peeling off the layers of his clothes as Hux crossed to the cockpit and contacted the Finalizer. He spoke quickly, and didn’t answer a question about if he was okay. A metallic sound came down on the roof of the shuttle and Kylo glanced down the open ramp to see torrential rain. It was so sudden, but Hux didn’t seem bothered.

“ _General, we’re detecting changes to the atmosphere of the planet. A tropical storm.”_

“Yes, I can see it.” Hux replied, “How does that impact you sending TIE fighters back to us?”

“ _They are treacherous conditions General. It would seem unwise to return the fighters to you until the tropical storm ends.”_

“Have you encountered a tropical storm before?” Hux asked, his tone betraying his annoyance. “Sometimes they can last five minutes and sometimes they can last five hours.”

“ _I know General, but it is the same order you would give.”_

Hux just managed to stop himself from disagreeing because he knew Mitaka was right. Even if the order was given, if the Special Forces pilot couldn’t fly in the conditions it would be moot.

“Well then, I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that Ren isn’t hurt badly.” Hux finally said, “You have our coordinates Lieutenant. As soon as it’s clear, even if it’s raining a little bit, you send the pilots to us.”

“ _Yes, General.”_

Hux turned away from the comms of the ship and back to where Kylo was sat, shirtless and waiting for him on the small cot installed in his shuttle. The medkit lay open next to him. Hux’s eyes were drawn to a painful injury on his right side, that looked almost like a burn.

“What happened?” He asked as he examined it. He had little to no medical training, but the medkit was full of bacta patches and pills, which would do for now.

“A stun gun.” Kylo replied lightly. “Their aim was off. Really off.”

“They didn’t seem to be a professional group.” Hux commented, “That much was obvious. And yet they had Force suppressant materials.”

“That stone was one and so were the handcuffs,” Kylo confirmed. “It was strange. They must have blocked the entrance first, and it sapped my strength but I didn’t notice. And when they attacked I couldn’t call on the Force to properly defend myself and I panicked. That’s how they overpowered me. The stun gun helped.”

“You fought me without the Force.” Hux muttered as he spread a bacta patch out across the burned area. Kylo hissed in pain but Hux kept his hands steady and the pressure up.

“That was different. I could have used the Force. And I did when you fell.” Kylo winced when Hux secured a second bacta patch on his side, over the rest of the burn. “But they’d cut me off from the Force. I couldn’t use it. I couldn’t even sense it anywhere it was gone.”

“Like cutting off a limb?” Hux surmised.

“I suppose? More like cutting off all your limbs. It made it hard to fight, made me groggy and they knew it would.” Kylo’s tone grew darker, angrier as he thought back to how easily he had been overpowered. Hux seemed to sense the change but he said nothing, merely stood and leaned in to look at Kylo’s wound. It was on his left side, just behind his temple. Hux had to lean close to get a proper look, forcing Kylo’s face to press against his chest. He was warm and Kylo could hear his heart beating. Closing his eyes, Kylo found it easy to slip into Hux’s mind.

_They aren’t professionals. The organisation and ease we took them down with shows that. But they had Force suppressant material. They recognised Ren, although that is easy considering the mask but…why would they have such things?_

Hux’s thought process was fast, and he was already answering his own questions even as they came to him. It helped Kylo relax from Hux’s fingers probing at his head so he re-joined the stream of thoughts, head fully resting over Hux’s heart.

_The Resistance and the Republic are gathering material. They intend to take Ren alive, if they can get him. General Organa believes she can convince Ren to go back to her. And they’re not stupid. They know they need things like this because Ren is so powerful. Was this a trap? A test to see if it would work? Could Snoke have known?_

Kylo pulled out as soon as Hux mentioned Snoke, his heart hammering. The conclusions Hux had come to made sense, but he also wasn’t the only Force sensitive person left in the world. Snoke’s existence made it clear that the Sith could return, and the Resistance would be arming themselves against such an attack. But if this had been a test to see whether these Force suppressant materials worked, how could Snoke not have known? Hux was distracted, his fingers idly playing with Kylo’s hair now instead of searching the wound. Kylo dipped back into his thoughts quickly.

_Luck. It’s pure luck. The Resistance would have to be stockpiling Force suppressant material. Ren is too powerful for them to control alone. He’s easily recognisable. The idiots probably thought they could kidnap Ren and take him to the Resistance._

“Are you going to do anything about that scratch?” Kylo asked, wanting to break Hux from that train of thought. There wasn’t going to be a definite answer since all the men were dead, and Kylo didn’t care to find out what the answer was regardless. He had escaped with Hux’s help, and he would not be making the same mistake. The feeling of something slowly sapping him was not going to easily disappear from his memories, he would be able to sense it if it happened again.

“It doesn’t really need anything.” Hux replied absently, “It’s superficial.”

“I told you it was.” Kylo gave a low chuckle and pushed Hux back. “When will it stop raining?”

“Do I look like a meteorologist?” Hux snorted, “I don’t know. The ships can be cloaked and you can tell if anyone approaches so it’s not like we’ll be caught blind.”

Kylo didn’t reply, merely watched Hux as he gathered the medkit up and put it away. His hands were shaking slightly, and he was still carrying all his weapons. Kylo was getting cold with the ramp down and no shirt on, and Hux seemed to know, as he called the ramp up and closed them completely inside. The only sound between them was the pattering of the rain on the metal outside of the ship. Kylo stood and slipped his strapped shirt back on, leaving the rest of his robes off. Hux looked like he could have done with a few layers removed as well, his cheeks lightly flushed from the humidity of the planet.

“You can relax, General.” Kylo broke the silence quietly, “And take off your weapons. You don’t need them in here.”

“I won’t relax until we’re out of Republic space and back on the Finalizer.” Hux retorted.

Kylo stood and pulled the rifle from Hux’s back. Hux spun to glare at him but didn’t stop him from taking the weapon. Balancing it in his hands, Kylo levelled it and aimed at the cockpit window. He swore he heard Hux chuckle under his breath, and the General did look amused when Kylo glanced his way.

“What?”

“You’re holding it wrong.” Hux answered. “Let me show you.”

He stepped forward and took Kylo’s hands, pushing lightly so the muzzle of the gun pointed to the ground instead of the window.

“Never point at something unless you’re going to shoot it.” Hux began, “And know that standing is the least accurate way to shoot somebody with a sniper’s gun. But since you want to learn a stance, just this once I’ll let you.”

Kylo stayed silent, allowing Hux to manoeuvre him around. He pushed Kylo back until he hit the wall, and pulled his finger from the trigger as well. Kylo was wider than Hux, so Hux had to slip between his arms to truly show him how to hold the gun, forcing him to hold it against Hux’s shoulder instead.

“Tuck it here,” He said, pulling the butt of the gun tightly against his own shoulder. Kylo did, his arms holding the gun and encircling Hux. “Your cheek should rest against it, and you hold the stock here, and here. Keep your finger off the trigger, you don’t want it to accidently go off.”

Kylo did as he was told. It was awkward with Hux in front of him, but his arms were long enough to do it. Hux tilted his head to the side. “You look down the scope and get the target in the crosshair. Your breathing needs to be controlled and steady, as it can affect the way you fire. And you need to take into account the wind speed and air pressure as well.”

“It’s heavy.” Kylo murmured, “To hold it for ages like this.”

Hux pushed it down, and Kylo’s arms went slack, freeing Hux from them. “That’s why lying is the most preferred and accurate position. You don’t have to hold the gun because you can use either a bipod or a tripod.”

“There’s a lot more involved than I thought.” Kylo admitted, “Even watching you before it seemed relatively easy but there are so many factors it’s impressive.”

“It’s why there are only six Stormtroopers in the SU division.” Hux clarified, “It’s a hard course, barely anyone completes it. I was the only member of my academy class that graduated from sniper training.”

“Would you like to try my weapon?” Kylo asked quietly, bringing the Lightsaber up off his belt. Hux took the sniper gun from Kylo and laid it carefully on the cot, then tentatively took the ‘saber. He was nervous, Kylo could feel it, and he was right to be. A Lightsaber was an unpredictable weapon, especially for someone with no sensitivity to the Force. It felt heavy and cumbersome to Hux, although it was lighter than his rifle and even his blaster gun.   
“You’ll need to step back to turn it on.” Kylo warned.

Hux did, giving Kylo and the walls of the shuttle a wide birth before pressing the ignition switch. The ‘saber burst into life with a hum, and Hux held it a little further away from himself than he needed to. Kylo had to stop himself laughing.

“I can’t give you such a personal demonstration.” He said, “But I can give you some tips.”

“It feels weird.” Hux commented, “It doesn’t feel right. Like it doesn’t belong in my hand.”

“It doesn’t,” Kylo agreed, “It was made for me, but at a pinch you could use it.” He glanced down and saw the knife attached to Hux’s thigh. “It’s like a bigger knife.”

“So a sword?” Hux asked drily, a hint of amusement in his tone.

“But much more dangerous.” Kylo nodded, taking the teasing in stride. “You aren’t sensitive to the Force so you won’t feel it, but it’s almost as if the ‘saber tells you where to move it to.”

Hux looked perplexed at him, carefully bringing the ‘saber across his body and then thrusting forward with it. It made a pleasant noise even by just renting the air, but Hux was a little too apprehensive to try anything more adventurous. He swung the ‘saber back the other way, across his body again and made both of them jump when he hit the wall of Kylo’s shuttle. Sparks flew and Hux’s thumb immediately flew to the ignition and the ‘saber powered down. They both stared at the angry red line drawn across the wall of the shuttle.

“Pay back for all the times you’ve destroyed the Finalizer.” Hux finally managed to say.

Kylo couldn’t help himself and he started laughing. Hux did too, and he handed Kylo’s weapon back to him as he did.

“How about I stick to what I know, and you stick to what you know.” Kylo said through his laughter, “I’m sure that’d be fine.”

Hux nodded in agreement and then stumbled. Kylo caught his arm to steady him.

“Adrenaline rush.” Hux said, “I’m fine.”

“You’re tired.” Kylo told him, “I can sense it. Why don’t you get some rest? From the sound of it this storm isn’t going anywhere soon.”

“No I’m fine.”

“At least take off a layer then.” Kylo pressed, “You’re making me sweat just looking at you.”

Hux relented to that, sliding off his tunic and releasing the straps around his thighs. His boots were the worst, the leather sticking to him because of the humidity but he didn’t remove those. Kylo looked up and down Hux’s arms and noticed small scars on the General’s pale skin.

“Did you get those in your training?” He asked, nodding at them.

Hux glanced down and his cheeks went pale when he noticed what Kylo was looking at. Kylo frowned and brushed against Hux’s mind. Panic and humiliation where battling for dominance in him, and though Kylo wanted to dig deeper he refrained from doing so.

“Everyone has scars.” Hux said simply. He sat down on the cot and Kylo followed suit. They were sat at opposite ends and both found themselves thinking that this was the longest conversation they had had together without insulting each other or arguing. Hux didn’t feel as though he could, his brain becoming sluggish from the heat and the adrenaline slowly running out. Kylo wasn’t sure why the insults hadn’t come naturally to him, but supposed he was grateful to Hux for rescuing him and he didn’t want to antagonise the General when they were stuck in his shuttle waiting for the rain to pass. Caught up in his thoughts, Kylo didn’t notice Hux had fallen asleep until the General’s form fell sideways and nearly off the small bed. Kylo managed to catch him with the Force and bring him back up, laying him on the cot and moving to sit on a smaller chair on the other side of the ship instead.

He was tired too. The Force coming back to him all in one go and so suddenly after being gone for days had drained him. The chair he was sat in was too small to be comfortable, but Kylo didn’t care. It was good enough. Hux barely took up any space on the cot, but he wasn’t to jump in and share. Part of him didn’t want to face Hux’s wrath when he woke up and found Kylo curled around him. But mostly he just didn’t want to share a bed with Hux. It was weird. They hated each other. They worked together to achieve the same goals but were entirely different people and Kylo doubted they would ever get along.

But then he remembered how gentle Hux’s hands had been when he was showing him how to hold the rifle, how he hadn’t shot him down when Kylo had suggested he try the Lightsaber. Fighting was something they had in common, their own personal styles that could work just as well together as they did separately. It was more than they had had before. Maybe they would continue hating each other, whilst they bonded over this shared training they had, but Kylo didn’t mind. Hux was no longer boring to him. There was someone aboard the Finalizer that wasn’t scared of him and that he could potentially talk to if needs be. And it was comforting. Hux would scoff, Kylo imagined, and say he was being sentimental and dramatic, but the General didn’t need to know how Kylo felt. That was the good thing about being the only Force sensitive one.

With his head spinning over the thoughts of him and Hux perhaps achieving a relationship level that wasn’t just hatred, Kylo drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i linked to the image included in the chapter in the last one but I had already decided to include it the next time I described Hux getting dressed lmao  
> the full tumblr post can be found [](http://rannystuffandthings.tumblr.com/post/155041354339/i-wanted-to-get-a-visual-down-for-my-sniperhux-au>here%20</a>%20on%20my%20own%20/o/)


	5. Barrel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After another sparing match and swapping stories Kylo and Hux aren't sure they can keep calling each other enemies anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is just pure fluff lmao a little bit of injury and some banter between Kylo and Hux but mostly just fluffy bonding moments /o/
> 
> i watched a lot of gymnastic and jiu jitsu videos for references for the moves in their second fight :L hopefully i explained them well enough
> 
> i just want to say as well thank you to everyone for your comments and kudos! they're so appreciated and i'm so happy you guys are all liking this fic! you're the best!

 

Hux woke in a panic to the sound of an alarm and he was out of bed in an instant, his rifle in his hands. Blinking the sleep from his eyes he realised he was hearing a call coming through the comms of Kylo’s shuttle, and said man was staring at Hux with wide eyes, hand up in some sort of defence against the gun pointing at him. Hux put the rifle down, and crossed to the comm.

“This is General Hux.”

“ _General, the Special Forces squad were dispatched from the Finalizer to come and get you.”_ Mitaka’s voice came through the comms, seemingly relieved that Hux had answered. How many times had they called while Hux and Kylo had been sleeping? Hux wondered.

“Good. ETA?”

“ _The weather seems to be good now, and they have permission from the division leader to use the hyperdrive, so it should be roughly an hour, maybe two, General.”_

“Alright. We shall be ready to leave as soon as they arrive.” Hux switched off the comms before Mitaka could reply and turned to Kylo. He was watching him, seemingly wary.  
“The Special Forces are on their way,” Hux informed him as if he hadn’t heard the conversation with Mitaka. “You might want to get dressed. Let me check your side before you do.”

Kylo didn’t argue, slipping off his shirt and allowing Hux to peel back the bacta patch. It had nearly healed the wound, and Hux decided against putting another one on it and wasting them.

“You’re fine.” He declared. “And we will be off this planet soon. Should you contact the Supreme Leader?”

“I did,” Kylo replied, “Earlier. When you were sleeping. I didn’t realise you were so tired.”

“Well,” Hux began uncomfortably, “Leader Snoke did not give us a lot of information to go on about your location so we had to make a few educated guesses which led to a lack of sleep.”

“And yet you thought you were good to handle a weapon?” Kylo inquired, amused.

Hux bristled, “I handled my weapons rather well, Ren. Tired or not I can do my job.”

Kylo shrugged and rolled his shoulders, standing from the chair to gather his robes. “I’m sure. You should dress as well.”

Glancing down Hux realised he had also stripped off his armour due to the heat of the shuttle. He grabbed his tunic and slipped it on, turning from Kylo when he did. His heart jumped into his throat when he felt leather clad fingers stroke over a bullet wound in his shoulder. He whirled and found Kylo stood right behind him, fully dressed apart from his helmet and staring at Hux with a strange intensity.

“You’ve been shot?” He asked, nodding at the corresponding bullet wound just under Hux’s collar bone, showing through his half-fastened tunic.

“It happens with the job.” Hux replied stiffly, “It was nothing. You have your fair share too.”

“It’s just strange.” Kylo muttered, “Seeing you with scars. I always assumed you were the kind of person that just never got hurt, made sure they were never close enough to a fight to get hurt, you know? And snipers generally don’t.”

“It doesn’t always go according to plan though does it?” Hux snapped, stepping away from Kylo. His fingers brushed lightly along Kylo’s side, deliberately or not considering the game he had instigated before Kylo had left the Force user wasn’t sure. “Sometimes you have to fight.”

Kylo said nothing, crossing his arms and waiting. He had heard Mitaka, he knew they had a while to wait before they could return to the Finalizer and would once again be just General Hux and Kylo Ren. If his thoughts before falling asleep had been anything, they’d enlightened him to the fact that he could talk to Hux outside of a work environment and they could get to know each other, and Hux wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea.

“You won’t stop dancing in endless circles until I tell you how I got this, will you Ren?” Hux sighed in annoyance, half turning back to Kylo as he began taking the sniper rifle apart so it was easier to store. He had a case for it in the TIE fighter, which he would get when the Special Forces pilots arrived.

“No.” Kylo confirmed. “Is that so bad?”

“We’re not exactly friends Ren. I’d hazard a guess you dislike me as much as I dislike you, so why you think I should share a personal story with you is beyond me. You’ve not exactly shared any of your own.” Hux’s voice was calm but Kylo knew he was seething, he could sense it in his mind barely using the Force to hear him. And Hux did have a point, but Kylo still wanted to talk.

“I can share first.” He stated firmly, “If that’s easier.” He pulled up the sleeve of his own robe and showed Hux a large, jagged scar that ran around his forearm, just below his elbow joint. The skin was slightly puckered. Hux stared at it, considering it and probably analysing how it was made. It made Kylo a little uncomfortable but he let Hux look as long as he needed to.

“So, you’re going to tell me the story to go along with that, and then expect me to do the same?” Hux queried, “Fine.”

He crossed back over to the small cot and sank onto it. Kylo retook his seat in the chair he had just vacated. Hux crossed one leg over the other, bouncing his foot lightly in the air as he waited for Kylo to speak.

“I’d just started my training with Snoke after abandoning my past life.” Kylo began, “His training regime was hard, punishing and I have a lot of scars from it. This is the worst, and the most memorable.” He paused, as if to collect himself. Hux didn’t rush him to speak.  
“He used to lock me in deprivation chambers. I didn’t have anything, food, water, or any sense of time. He’d leave me in for days at a time and sometimes it was just hours. It was to hone my skills he said, make it so I could survive on the bare minimal in case I needed to. It was torture for me. I was around fifteen years old, and still growing. The Light still pulled to me and it scared me. I fought him.”

“The Supreme Leader?” Hux asked for clarification. “You fought him?”

Kylo nodded, “It was stupid of me to do but I was scared. It was after a long bought in one of these chambers. The Supreme Leader told me that he was going to leave me there for the rest of my life, that I was useless to him and would never be as strong as he wanted me to be. I can see now looking back on it he was merely pushing me, trying to see how long it would take until I snapped. I didn’t last very long.  
“He was there, just sitting on a throne and he seemed so vulnerable. I don’t know why I thought that but…well he’s not half as big as his holo is when we speak to him.”

“I had figured that.” Hux said drily.

“I had a Lightsaber even at that time, although it wasn’t the one I carry now. The Supreme Leader was sat with his back to me, seemingly distracted and I rushed him. He caught me with the Force and laughed at me, told me I was foolish and if I killed him I would have no one. I couldn’t go back to my old life, they would never accept me after what I did. And I couldn’t further my own descent to the Dark Side. I would have no one. He ripped the ‘saber from my grip and held it out. Then he slowly started bending my arm over it. He told me that if I begged him to stop he would. I didn’t, not at first. Getting hurt with a ‘saber is very clean, the pain doesn’t normally kick in straight away because it cauterises the nerve endings. When I feared he was about to chop off my arm I begged and as he said he stopped. He broke my ‘saber and said I could only have one when I proved how loyal I was to him.  
“I don’t have any feeling in this part of my arm now.” Kylo finished with a large sigh, brushing his own fingers over the scar.

Hux held out his own. “May I?”

Kylo looked surprised and nodded. Hux’s hand was steady as he gently touched the scar. He used his un-gloved fingers, running the length of the scar. It felt strange beneath his fingers and true to his words Kylo didn’t react. Hux looked up at Kylo and pressed against the skin but Kylo still held his gaze.

“Is that why he pushes you so much now?” Hux asked, his voice soft, eyes still fixed on Kylo’s. “Because he’s worried you might go against him again?”

“He wants me to be powerful.” Kylo whispered, “I want to be powerful too, and he can help me.”

“If he makes you as powerful as he is, he’ll be scared of you.” Hux said before he could think. Kylo was already extremely powerful, and though he had failed in his first attempt to kill Snoke, there was nothing to stop him from succeeding in the future. If Hux had been in Snoke’s position, he would have been wary of Kylo.

“Tell me your story.” Kylo said suddenly, “I don’t want to talk about Snoke.”

Hux blinked and nodded. “I suppose it’s only fair.” He murmured, unsure of where to begin. Neither of them looked away and the air was beginning to grow heavy around them. It was raining again, but only softly, not enough to deter the Special Forces pilots coming to get the TIE fighter. Hux wanted to tear his eyes from Kylo’s but found it hard. This was an intimate moment and it was making him uncomfortable, his fingers still resting on Kylo’s scar.

“It was during my days in the Academy.” Hux finally began speaking again, eyes darting to the rifle set next to him on the bed but being drawn back to Kylo’s within seconds. “A second Academy set up when Arkanis was attacked by the Rebellion. As a sniper you’re supposed to practise teamwork, to have a select group of people around you that you can trust. A lone sniper is vulnerable. I destroyed that mindset during the Academy. The only member of the class to graduate and I never once used a team. I didn’t need one. The class resented me. Even the teacher resented me. I suppose they thought I had a natural talent for it, but I worked hard to be as good as I am. It was hard, with a lot of work and pushing myself beyond my limits to achieve my goals.” Hux paused, taking a breath and monitoring Kylo’s face for a reaction. He was always so expressive, it was easy. He was listening, interested, trying to guess where the story was going.  
“I was practising late one night. We had a range set up in secret on the edge of Academy grounds that allowed us privacy. If any student stumbled onto the range there was a rumour we were allowed to shoot them. I never saw anyone stumble across it, so I assumed it was just that, a rumour. Our instructor told us we were never to touch the ground, that sometimes it was too dangerous for a sniper to go to ground level. There were always ways around the range, although they changed from time to time.  
“Some of the boys in my class were jealous I suppose of how well I was doing. Maybe it was just because they were incompetent and they couldn’t see it, I never asked for their motivation. They set up a trap. One of them lay on the ground of the range, covered in fake blood as if they’d been shot. He was calling for help, weakly. I noticed him through the scope of my gun. You normally swiped into the range, so you knew how many people were using it and you didn’t shoot each other. They’d broken in so I thought I was alone and I had no reason to think I wasn’t. I was tempted to shoot him. Put him out of his misery.” Hux paused again, closing his eyes and bringing the memory to the forefront of his mind. He had been stupid back then, too trusting, he hadn’t been hardened into the ruthless man he was now.

“So, you went to him?” Kylo’s voice was still soft, gently prodding Hux into finishing his story.

“I did. I thought the ground was going to break up underneath me for all the warnings from our teacher, but he just didn’t want us to use each other as target practise. I approached the boy and bent down to check whether he was alright. He looked right at me and said ‘Checkmate’.” A shudder went through Hux before he could stop him. He opened his eyes and looked at Kylo. His eyes were wide, reading Hux’s emotions from him using the Force.  
“I don’t think that’s something I could forget. The way he grinned at me, wiped the fake blood off and then covered his head. The look in his eyes, the feral smirk, the happiness he felt that he had been part of a conspiracy to kill me. I was fifteen at the time. A child by all rights. And they hated me because I excelled where they failed, so instead of trying to get better they decided to kill me. They only got one good shot in. The through and through that caused this scar.” Hux used his free hand to gently prod the scar tissue under his collar bone, watching Kylo’s eyes flick to it before settling on Hux’s again.  
“The bastards weren’t even brave enough to shoot me in the front. There was a lot of bullets but most just grazed me. They got in a backshot and I went down. Held my breath, didn’t move. The boy on the floor with me kicked me to see if I was alive and when I didn’t respond they ran off, thinking they’d killed me.”

“Your father must have been livid.” Kylo said.

“I managed to get home and collapsed on his favourite rug and bled out. He yelled at me for that when I finally got out of the bacta tank.” Hux chuckled without a hint of amusement, “And when I healed he rounded up the boys that had tried to kill me and set them loose in the range. I was allowed to hunt them, and shoot them. Wound them, maim them or kill them, he said I would be pardoned for all three acts.”

“And you killed them.” Kylo stated.

“Of course. I wasn’t risking a repeat performance. It took a while for me to be able to hold a rifle again, my shoulder was so stiff with the healing tissue. They had to pay for it.” Hux sniffed. His fingers tightened around Kylo’s scar when he noticed the dark-haired man slowly sliding his leather gloves off.

“Can I touch it?” He asked.

“You already have.” Hux said quietly.

“Can I touch it properly?” Kylo rephrased.

Hux nodded. Kylo’s hands had been warmed by his gloves, and unlike Kylo, Hux still had feeling in the tissue, and he bit his lip to stop a gasp from escaping when Kylo pressed the lightest touch to it.

“Do you have a lot of scars?” Kylo murmured.

“A few. You have a lot. I saw them yesterday.”

Kylo frowned and nearly drew his fingers back. Hux shifted, inadvertently pressing the scar against Kylo. They were still looking at each other, and that strange tension was still there, but neither of them moved.

“I don’t like them.”

“I think they make you more human.”

Kylo blushed and pulled back, breaking whatever spell had kept them staring at each other whilst speaking. Hux’s mind screamed at him for what he had said and he pulled his hand back from Kylo as well, grabbing the parts of his rifle just for something to hold.

Before the silence could get awkward, the warning system of Kylo’s shuttle began blaring. Hux was on his feet in an instant, crossing to the cockpit and checking what had triggered them. To his relief it was a TIE fighter, carrying two pilots so they could finally leave Akiva. Kylo came up behind him.

“You need to finish getting dressed. I’ll meet them.” He said.

“They still need to land I have time.” Hux dismissed his concerns easily, fastening his tunic even as he walked towards the ramp of the shuttle and punched for it to open. He had to retrieve the carry case for his rifle. His heart was pounding and his mind was replaying the last conversation between him and Kylo. What had that been? Normally they couldn’t speak for that long without shouting or screaming at each other, without some sort of insult being thrown and he had never looked into Kylo’s eyes for so long. On the Finalizer things would be different, Hux told himself, they would be back in their normal roles. He had told Kylo he didn’t trust him to pilot a shuttle. Hux didn’t trust himself to pilot it much more with his head all over the place.

 _Calm down,_ Kylo’s voice echoed in his head and Hux jumped violently.

“Stay out of my head, Ren!” He snapped, out loud although Kylo was still inside the shuttle. He heard it anyway, and gave no response. Hux grabbed the case and went back into the shuttle to put his rifle away. Kylo was still standing in the cockpit, and he now had his helmet in place. By the time Hux had finished the second TIE fighter had landed and the two pilots had climbed out. They saluted when he approached them.

“General Hux, are you prepared to leave?” One asked.

“Yes.” Hux nodded, “One of you is to pilot that fighter,” He ordered, pointing at the TIE fighter he had flown to the planet in, “The other will return in the one you’ve just flown and I shall be piloting Ren’s command shuttle. Let’s move out now.”

The pilots saluted again, splitting up so they could occupy one TIE fighter each. Hux went back into the shuttle. Kylo was sat in the pilot’s seat, getting the shuttle ready for take-off.

“Move, Ren.” Hux commanded.

“Why?”

“You’re not fit to fly. Not until Medbay have checked you over.” Hux replied, rolling his eyes since Kylo wasn’t looking at him. “Otherwise we wouldn’t still be stuck here.”

“And you think I should trust you to pilot my ship?” Kylo inquired, standing and turning to Hux.

“I’m not asking.” Hux stated firmly, brushing past him into the now free pilot’s seat. As he did Kylo lightly brushed his waist. Hux didn’t respond, but he knew Kylo was smirking under the mask regardless. Hux sent a call to the Finalizer. “This is General Hux. We are launching now to return to the Finalizer, make sure the Bay is ready for Ren’s shuttle.” He ordered, turning off the comms before he got a response. He didn’t need one, he knew the crew would be ready.

Kylo slid into the co-pilot seat but kept his hand on his lap when Hux glared at him.

“I’m not flying. Just observing.”

Shaking his head, Hux brought the ramp up, flicking a few more switches to run various aspects of the ship, and then brought them up into the air. The TIE fighters had waited for Hux to take off first, but they moved faster than the shuttle, covering them from the air as Hux guided them slowly above the tree line and up, out of the atmosphere of the planet. Kylo was staring at him. Hux ignored him.

Their trip to the Finalizer was done in silence, Hux speaking only once when the Finalizer asked for an update on where he was. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but both Hux and Kylo glanced at the other a few times more than necessary.

Landing Kylo’s shuttle down inside the Finalizer was definitely easier than landing a TIE fighter, Hux decided, although he did nearly push the wrong button and send them accelerating through the Hangar Bay. Kylo made a small noise, barely heard through the vocoder on his mask, but Hux was sure it was a laugh. He ignored him again, standing and taking his rifle case in hand as the ramp came down. Phasma and a contingent of Stormtroopers were waiting for them. Hux recognised them as the SU unit. Kylo stomped down the ramp after him, ready to disappear into the Finalizer. Hux held out his case and it smacked him, stopping him in his tracks and effectively blocking him from walking round Hux.

“General, welcome back.” Trigger stepped forward with a salute, “We’ve compiled a report for you to take to the Supreme Leader of who was attacking, the numbers and their weapon types, Sir.”

“Good work.” Hux praised them, taking the Datapad from Techie when he held it out before turning to Phasma. “I assume everything was well on ship?”

“It was, General. The Supreme Leader is waiting for you in the audience chamber.” She replied.

“Very good. Back to your stations then,” Hux ordered, finally moving his case and walking forward, side by side with an annoyed Kylo.

“The Supreme Leader doesn’t want you present for the first part of our discussion,” He stated, “That’s why I was going on ahead.”

“Regardless, I need to make sure you get checked out by medical when you’re done,” Hux shrugged, “Have your discussion with the Supreme Leader, my report can be sent to him using the secure Datapad connection.”

Hux was sure if he could see Kylo’s face he would be rolling his eyes, but he made no reply to the General, so they walked side by side in silence until they reached the audience chamber. Kylo went inside, Hux waited outside. The chamber was soundproof, so Hux didn’t know what was being said until the door reopened and Kylo came out.

“He wants to talk to you now.” He said gruffly before turning back inside. Hux followed and took his place to Kylo’s right on the dais.

“General, another mission perfectly executed. I believe you had to wait behind while the others returned?” Snoke said as soon as Hux looked up at him.

“Yes Supreme Leader. Ren’s shuttle was still on Akiva, and I did not trust him to pilot it since he was injured.” Hux agreed, “So we remained behind so the Special Forces could come and retrieve the TIE fighters.”

“An excellent plan to use then, General, I must say.” Snoke appraised, “The SU division was a good choice to invest in.”

Hux accepted the praise with a nod.

“And Lord Red was secured with Force suppressors, I believe?” Snoke continued.

“He was.” Hux confirmed, “And there was a stone laced with the material sapping his powers from him, as far as I understand it. The further away from the underground area the stronger he got.”

“Have some of the Knights of Ren investigate.” Snoke ordered Kylo, “And General, congratulations again for your success. However, Starkiller Base now demands your attention. The design was yours, and the engineers building her have need of your expertise. Therefore, fieldwork will be non-existent for you. Lord Ren, you will have yourself checked over and will continue your training when you have been signed off as healthy. Make sure you are ready to leave at a moment’s notice if I call on you.”

With a wave of his hand Snoke dismissed them. Hux would be glad to get back to his room, but he accompanied Kylo to Medbay as he had stated he would. Kylo glowered at everyone, and the medical assistants worked quickly to check his wounds and make sure he was healthy. They put a fresh bacta patch on the wound on his side.

“He also had a head wound.” Hux put in when Kylo made to stand. The glare that was levelled at him when Kylo pulled his helmet free made Hux smirk, then return one of his own. The medics checked Kylo’s head and applied another bacta patch to that as well, before announcing that the patches could be removed in twelve hours and from there he should be fine. Any spots of light in his vision or trouble sleeping and he should report back.

Kylo left the room silently, and Hux followed.

“Stop following me,” Kylo growled.

“I’m not following you. There’s only one way back to my chambers from Medbay.” Hux replied, echoing Kylo’s own words when Hux had accused him of following him from a meeting with Snoke.

“We should have a rematch, General.” Kylo said suddenly, “When these bacta patches come on. It’s a long way to Starkiller, we need something to do.”

“I have something to do, Ren.” Hux retorted smoothly, “It’s called a job.”

“Are you afraid I’d beat you?” Kylo inquired, standing with his arms folded. He would look annoyingly smug under that helmet, Hux knew, and he didn’t want to back down from the challenge.

“Are you asking for a rematch of the same calibre?” He inquired.

“With weapons this time. I saw your combat skills with hand held weapons, and I’m good at that myself.” Kylo decided, “Do you think you could beat me?”

Hux surveyed him, “Anyone could beat you when you’re not using the oh so powerful Force,” He sneered, “Really Ren, I’m surprised you want to be embarrassed again and so soon.”

“I’ll admit I don’t normally do hand to hand combat without the Force.” Kylo conceded, “However I’ve been trained to use hand held weapons without the Force. The Supreme Leader was adamant I learn, in case Force suppressants were used.”

“Yes, and it served you well, clearly.” Hux scoffed. “Fine Ren, if you insist. I’ll contact you when I’m free.”

Leaving no room for argument Hux brushed past Kylo and traversed the Finalizer until he was back in his rooms. He slid the case with his rifle in under his coffee table and then headed into the ‘fresher. Hux intended to shower and then consider the reports that needed his attention straight afterward. Catching sight of the bullet wound to his shoulder made Hux pause, the shower water running hot already and beginning to fill the ‘fresher slowly with steam. He pressed a finger to it, remembering Kylo’s warm fingers poking him there, then retracted his hand and got in the shower. The less he thought of Kylo Ren now, the better. He always gave Hux a stress related headache.

He was still thinking of Kylo Ren when he got out of the shower, and Hux was sorely tempted to bang his head against the nearest wall and make himself forget. He settled for some brandy, pouring out a larger than normal amount after he had settled a towel around his waist. He needed a step back from Kylo, a bit of space from him, which would easily be gained on the Finalizer. It would be even easier when they finally reached Starkiller, since Hux would be elbow-deep in problems then most likely. Building a super-weapon in an abandoned planet was tricky. Not that Hux had expected it not to be, but there were some hiccups he couldn’t have planned for. Drinking the brandy in two gulps, Hux padded into the bathroom, dressed and plucked his Datapad from his desk. He poured another glass of brandy and settled down on his couch to decide on what sort of activities he could work on to keep himself away from Kylo.

\--

Hux successfully avoided Kylo for five consecutive days by a combination of constant meetings, locking himself in his room and using the tracking chip in Kylo’s belt to move about the ship when Kylo was elsewhere. It was to Hux’s displeasure when he returned to his room on the sixth day after returning from Akiva and found Kylo sitting on his sofa, reading something on a Datapad. Hux had had a stressful day of back and forth shouting with the lead constructor of Starkiller of the problems that they were facing and how to fix them. Hux had eventually conceded that he would review his theories when he saw the problems and had hung up. It had not left him in the mood to deal with Kylo, and yet there he was, as if Hux’s chambers were his own. He didn’t even glance up when Hux entered, and Hux wished the door wasn’t automatic so he could have slammed it. He settled for crossing to his liquor cabinet and slamming a glass down. No doubt Kylo had known he was there before the door had even opened but the noise caused him to look up.

“What do you want, Ren?” Hux demanded, pouring himself whiskey and staring at Kylo. He wasn’t wearing his helmet, his dark eyes boring into Hux’s the same way they had back on Akiva.

Kylo put the Datapad aside and stood. Hux held his ground, glaring at him.

“Did you forget about our training?” He asked.

Hux snorted with laughter, gripping his glass of whiskey tightly to avoid dropping it and moved past Kylo to settle himself on the couch he had just vacated. Kylo followed him, choosing to stand rather than sit now, silent as he waited for Hux to reply.

“You know, Ren, running a ship isn’t easy. There’s a lot of work involved. And building a weapon into a planet also isn’t easy. Can your training not wait?” Hux inquired, tipping back the whiskey and swallowing it all in one shot. It had a pleasant after-taste to it, and Hux was disappointed he hadn’t thought to bring the bottle over. Kylo’s hand came up and the bottle flew across the room to him. He set it down on the table. Hux glared again.  
“Get out of my head.” He hissed.

“It’s been hard not to hear you even without looking,” Kylo taunted, “All this sneaking around trying to avoid me, General. It’s almost as if you know you’re going to lose and are afraid.”

“No, I just have work to do, Ren. Just because Leader Snoke has given you permission to float around the stage and do as you please it doesn’t mean everyone is as free as you.” Hux retorted, reaching for the whiskey. It floated up out of his reach and Hux was tempted to throw his glass at Kylo.

“I have my training.” Kylo stated, the whiskey hovering next to his head, “And I have to be on alert in case the Supreme Leader needs me to leave. Why are you really avoiding me?”

“I don’t like you,” Hux said matter-of-factly, as if Kylo hadn’t really needed to ask, “Did you think I would willingly seek you out?”

Kylo was silent, his face half hidden in the shadow of Hux’s room since he hadn’t decided to turn the lights on as soon as he had spotted Kylo. Something passed over his expression though, Hux noticed, and he wondered what it was.

“We can do something similar to Akiva.” Kylo suggested. “If you fight me, I’ll do something for you too. Anything.”

“The thought ‘stop destroying my ship’ comes to mind.” Hux replied, considering the idea. It was just a fight. He had his training, and Kylo had his. But it was more than that too. It had been since Hux had lightly brushed Kylo the first time since their first fight. It had continued to be more during their time in Kylo’s command shuttle, showing each other their respective weapons and swapping stories about problematic times in their lives. Hux wasn’t blind, he had noticed a shift in their relationship since Kylo had realised he wasn’t just leading from the back, that he could fight, and would happily do so. It irked Hux. It should have irked him more than it did. He should have been able to continue hating Kylo Ren, and sometimes he succeeded in doing just that.

But, he had to admit, in the last five days he had been considering their time together. When they had been removed from their roles as General and Knight, they had talked together, laughed together and trained together. He had never believed he would be doing that when Kylo had first stepped a sullen foot aboard the Finalizer. Something had definitely evolved between them.

“You think too much.” Kylo said, breaking his train of thought.

Hux felt himself flush. Had Kylo been listening? “I thought I told you to stay out of my head?!”

“I wasn’t in it.” Kylo spoke softly, his eyes finding Hux’s in the darkness. Hux didn’t look away, although he was frowning in disbelief. “Your mind is loud. When I don’t listen to it, it’s there in the background, like a badly tuned radio. I can tell when you’re thinking. I also asked if you wanted me to go, and you didn’t respond.”

“Oh.” Hux was a little stumped at that. His whiskey was still floating near Kylo’s head. “Look, Ren I appreciate you want to fight me for whatever reason, but tonight is really not a good time. We can fight tomorrow morning. 06:00 hours, in the officer’s training room. I shall have it booked for us. Don’t be late.”

Kylo grinned and Hux found the whiskey bottle falling into his hand. “See you then, General.” He said and then he was gone and Hux lay back into the couch and downed another three glasses of whiskey, booked the training room for an hour and fell asleep.

When he woke up it was five in the morning and he had a crick in his neck from sleeping on the couch. The whiskey bottle was wedged between his knees, but Hux didn’t feel too bad from the alcohol. He had an hour to get ready for his fight with Kylo and all Hux wanted to do was have a shower and go to bed properly. If he didn’t show up, Kylo would accuse him of being a coward, however jokingly, and that was something Hux would rather avoid. Standing up and putting the whiskey back into the cabinet, Hux stared at it for a moment. Where had this liquor cabinet come from?

Snoke hadn’t mentioned anything about gifting Hux with something for his successful mission this time, and last night in his anger towards Kylo he had completely missed this new addition to his room. It had to have come from the Supreme Leader, so Hux accepted its presence and moved to the ‘fresher to shower off his lingering annoyance from yesterday.

Kylo was waiting for him when Hux entered the officer’s training room at 5:55. He was twirling his ignited Lightsaber around, slowly heating up the air. Hux stood in the doorway, surveying him. Dressed only in a black strapped shirt and black soft pants Kylo didn’t cut the same sort of figure he normally did. Even with the weapon in his hands he seemed softer than normal. Catching himself thinking about it, Hux cleared his throat to announce his presence and slipped off his greatcoat. He had worn it for some semblance of authority, underneath he was wearing regulation training gear, which was the same as Kylo’s just with the First Order insignia on it. Kylo powered his saber down and watched Hux hang up his coat and take off his boots, leaving him barefoot.

“Do you expect to fight you with one those?” Hux asked, half-joking. Kylo’s helmet and cloak were hanging up on the rack by the door as Hux placed his coat there.

“No,” He replied evenly, “Since we only have one.” He placed the hilt of his ‘saber with his clothes, brushing a little too close to Hux as he did. They faced one another, barely inches apart. “We’ll use those.” Kylo added, gesturing to the rack of practise weapons standing against one wall.

Hux eyed them, wondering which to choose. First Order regulations stated that all officers had to have some sort of combat training in three areas; hand to hand, close hand weapons and long range weapons. Out of them all they usually had a speciality but were skilled in the others. Hux’s own training had focused on hand to hand and close range weaponry before he had been selected for the sniper programme. As for Kylo, he didn’t know. Of course, his training had begun under a Jedi Master, and then under Snoke, and from the story Kylo had told him, Snoke’s training was as much mental as it was physical. Still Kylo was strong, just one glance at him confirmed that. And Hux had seen Kylo fight. He was skilled.

“This is going to be slightly different from before,” Kylo spoke again as he looked over the weapons, Hux at his side. “Since we’re using weapons I reserve the right to use the Force to stop us maiming or injuring each other.”

“And you expect me to trust you won’t use it to impediment me?” Hux snapped the question out even as he drew a deadly looking practise knife from the rack. It was about eight inches long and jagged at the hilt for maximum damage. Kylo looked at him as if he had asked a stupid question.

“You know your own fighting style Hux, you’ll know if it’s not normal. I’m not going to use the Force against you, just to make sure we come out of this in one piece.”

“Fine,” Hux agreed, “But for nothing else.”

Kylo nodded and selected his weapon. It was a staff, long and thin but perfectly balanced like his ‘saber. It was longer than his normal weapon. Hux selected a shorter one, arming himself like he had when he had rescued Kylo. He’d always been better with two weapons.

“Accidental blows are expected, but the earlier rule still holds. Featherlight touches.” Hux said as he tested the weight and balance of the knife in his hands. Kylo nodded his agreement, holding his staff in one hand and absently twirling it.

“What’s the finished rule?” He inquired.

“When we’re tired.” Hux smirked, “Or one of us gets injured.”

Rolling his shoulder Kylo took a moment to look at Hux’s stance. It was similar to how it had been during their hand to hand fight. He held the knife in his right hand and the short staff in his left. Trying to remember which hand Hux favoured proved fruitless, and Kylo couldn’t use the Force to find out either. He needed to disarm Hux of one of his weapons and give him no choice but to swap out for a weapon more like Kylo’s. He had a feeling Hux didn’t like that sort of weapon as much. For all his analysing Hux’s face was unreadable as he watched Kylo sizing him up. The same excitement that had blazed in his green eyes was there again, despite how long it had taken for Hux to agree to the fight.

This time Hux moved first. He held the knife in a backhanded grip, which struck Kylo as odd until the first blow came. It was a double decoy attack. Hux slashed out with the knife, causing Kylo to bring his staff up to defend and then lash out to try and push Hux away. Hux ducked under the weapon and brought his body up against Kylo’s with a quick step, his own short staff exploiting the opening Kylo had just made. Kylo had to block quickly, which allowed Hux to flip the knife around in his fingers and press it into Kylo’s shoulder blade. It was sneaky, and quickly done, and suited Hux well.

The beginning of their training last time had been a little cautious, giving each other time to get over the attacks before going in for the counter. Kylo didn’t do that this time, and retaliated straight away. Bringing his staff and arm up, he slid it swiftly under Hux’s outstretched arm and locked it in place with his free arm over the top. With a squeeze, Hux dropped the knife, and as Kylo turned his body in a circle Hux had no choice but to follow him due to the pressure on certain parts of his arm. Kylo kicked the knife away as he brought Hux to the floor, gently but with enough force to remind him that he couldn’t always best Kylo.

Hux banged the floor once, telling Kylo he was hurting him and to let him up. Kylo did, withdrawing his weapon and twirling it in front of him. Hux was now armed with just his short staff, and it was inadequate against Kylo’s and they both knew it. Thinking he had the upper hand already, Kylo went in for another attack, only for Hux to use a back handspring to escape him and bring himself closer to the weapons rack. He quickly exchanged his weapon for one as long as Kylo’s, his back never to Kylo himself. The Knight quirked an eyebrow, impressed. Hux spun the weapon from hand to hand to get a feel for it, his face passive but eyes still sparkling. Kylo circled him, trying to analyse Hux as he was sure Hux was doing to him.

It quickly dissolved into a sparing session, most of the attacks becoming staff to staff. It was fun, testing their strength, but Kylo always clearly had the upper hand. Hux was fast and nimble, and could regain his balance well enough when Kylo landed a particularly powerful hit, but it was getting repetitive. If Kylo had stopped to think about it, he’d have realised Hux was purposefully attacking the same way again and again so Kylo would attempt something different and give Hux the opening he needed. He couldn’t defeat Kylo with brute strength, he had to be clever. But Kylo didn’t think, too caught up in trying to change up the fight. He planted his staff firmly on the floor and leapt, using a wide arch motion to land a pretend kick to Hux’s head. Kylo was confident he had the core body strength to stop himself and not actually kick Hux in the head, but he hadn’t expected Hux to bring his tensed arm up to block the kick. The reverberation down the bones of his leg must have been ten times worse for Hux, and the General dropped to the floor.

 _Shit,_ Kylo cursed, thinking he had really hurt him. Hux swept out with his staff and knocked Kylo’s out from under him before Kylo could get his feet back on the floor, and he was sent careening to the floor and making Kylo rethink his decision that Hux had actually been injured.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he picked himself up just in case.

Hux was shaking the tenseness out of his arm, staff casually held in one hand. “I’m fine,” He said, voice a little tight.

Kylo didn’t believe him but he didn’t push it. Hux’s grip with his left hand was not as tight as his right, but he attacked regardless. Kylo swept low, aiming for Hux’s legs but Hux leapt away in an aerial twist, balancing on one hand to help him with the flip. He parried Kylo’s next blow and nearly dropped his staff. Caught between asking whether they should stop and not wanting to insult Hux, Kylo continued his low-grade attacks, trying to bring Hux down gently. Hux constantly flipped out of his way, but he was getting tired and his face was pinched tight with pain. When Kylo didn’t want to continue anymore he decided to get behind Hux so he can pin his arms to his sides and not give him a chance to get away.

Hux was watching him warily when Kylo made a run towards him, staff held out. Just before he hit the General, or Hux could disarm his run with a blow from his own staff, Kylo used the wooden pole to vault up and over Hux, his knees tucked into his chest as he flipped mid-air. Hux looked a little dumbfounded, like he hadn’t expected that to happen, but quickly recovered and with a sharp thrust and twist of his staff between Kylo’s knees, he upset the Force users balance. Panic set in at the idea of falling wrong and Kylo couldn’t stop himself from drawing on the Force so he could continue the flip anyway and roll to his feet when he landed.

“You cheated.” Hux murmured, his staff held loosely in his right hand.

“And you’re injured.” Kylo retorted, breathing heavily and casting his staff aside.

Hux glanced down at his arm. Bruises were already beginning to form on his pale skin, he had always bruised easily. Opening and closing his fingers was extremely painful and Hux was torn between whether his arm was broken or if he just had soft tissue damage, which could be more painful. Kylo approached and took his staff off him.

“You fight well with weapons,” He said simply.

“I’ve seen holorecordings of old Jedi fights,” Hux replied, “The gymnastic involvement when they fought is incredible, but it requires the Force I assume?”

Kylo nodded, “I also didn’t want to go all out in here.” He admitted, “I might accidently hurt you. Not that it helped.”

“This is my fault.” Hux countered, “I forgot we were just training and reacted as I would if someone was actually attacking me.”

“You should go to Medbay and get it checked.” Kylo muttered, feeling a little bit guilty anyway, “I’ll come with you.”

“I don’t need a babysitter Ren,” Hux scoffed. He didn’t actually tell Kylo not to come with him, so when they had put the weapons away and both dressed, Kylo followed Hux through the Finalizer to get his arm checked out. He kept it cradled to his chest, arm not in his greatcoat but underneath it, and it wasn’t obvious that he was in pain if not for the slight tightness of a frown around his eyes. Kylo found it rather admirable, and foolish. Hux didn’t need to hide it, there was no one around but the cameras.

Medbay was empty as well except for one medical assistant who was counting out bacta patches and pills. He jumped to attention when Hux and Kylo entered.

“I injured my arm in training. I require a bacta patch.” Hux ordered.

“Of…of course General. If you could take a seat so I can examine you.” The medic requested nervously.

It was odd, Hux thought, that there were no droids around helping the lone medic, but they couldn’t have been far away in case there was a sudden catastrophic incident aboard the Finalizer that required many hands to deal with it. Hux took a seat and slipped his arm out of his coat for the medic to look over while Kylo stood in the doorway, a tall and glowering presence that only served to make the medic work faster.

The fact that Hux’s arm was in a sling under his coat while a bacta patch on his skin worked to slowly heal the damage did nothing to stall the rumours that Kylo had hurt Hux in a rage. Hux listened to them in amusement as Kylo stalked somewhere else on the Finalizer. The pain in his arm was mostly gone now thanks to the gentle thrum of bacta in his veins from the pills the medic had given him, and it left him with a strange sort of high. He would have gotten a lot of work done if it wasn’t for the fact that he was too restless to sit down. Hux had always had this strange reaction to bacta pills, they released a nervous energy into him and he couldn’t sit down until it had gone from his system.

 _You need a drink._ Kylo’s voice echoed in his head for the second time in too short a space of time for Hux to be used to it and it took all his control not to shout in surprise. He glanced around the bridge carefully, making it seem as if he was just looking over what his officers were doing. Kylo was not on the bridge, but Hux hadn’t expected him to be.

 _Where are you?_ He thought, assuming Kylo would hear him.

 _I’m getting you a drink._ Came the reply.

 _Dammit Ren you better not be in my quarters._ Hux turned on his heel at the thought and stalked from the bridge. Halfway to his rooms Kylo intercepted him and pulled him into Hux’s office instead.

“There’s a liquor cabinet in here too.” He said, lifting his helmet off as soon as the door closed. “Do you think the Supreme Leader is trying to tell you something?”

“Either that I’m an alcoholic or I need to increase security on board.” Hux sighed. This cabinet was smaller, slotted under Hux’s desk and Hux was tempted to get rid of it when he had the chance. He didn’t want to keep something like that either in his rooms or his office, it broke so many regulations. But a little part of him was glad for the easy access whiskey and brandy, which always served to help his headaches. Or make them worse if he drank too much, but Hux was good at control and mediation.

A glass appeared next to him, floated there by Kylo and it had three fingers of whiskey in it. “Stars Ren, are you trying to get me drunk?!” Hux demanded, taking the glass anyway.

“Drink it slowly,” Kylo suggested. “You need it.”

“Don’t assume you know what I need,” Hux admonished, “Two sparing matches and a couple of stories doesn’t make us best friends Ren. Remember your position on this ship, and mine.”

Kylo met him with his dark brown eyes and the rest of Hux’s insults died away. Smirking, Kylo put the whiskey back in the cabinet and locked it, slipping the key into his robes.

“Make sure you rest.” He said and with that he was gone, leaving Hux standing in his office holding a glass full of whiskey and wondering when he had begun to prefer Kylo Ren with his helmet off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is action to come /o/


	6. Bullet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starkiller needs a lot of work doing and Hux gets stuck in. Kylo comes for a visit and they realise they have no idea what their relationship is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is very self-indulgent lmao i love the idea of Hux being like, super good with his hands like a mechanic or engineer and also getting stuck in bc Starkiller is his baby and he needs to fix her and make her work.
> 
> and meanwhile feelings are developing between kylo and hux and neither of them understand it bc they don't hate each other, they don't particularly like each other, they can sort of tolerate each other...and they're confused :L   
> don't worry boys, clarity will come in time :L
> 
> Again thank you so much to everyone for comments and kudos and bookmarks and hits you guys are the best! You're keeping me going writing this fic! I love you all!

 

 

Hux’s arm had healed by the time the Finalizer arrived at Starkiller base, only twinging from time to time when he flexed the muscles too suddenly. He took his own command shuttle to the planet, leaving Ren aboard the ship. Since their slightly botched training session they hadn’t spent any time alone. Indeed they had barely spoken at all except to swap barbed insults and the occasional “Is your arm okay?” from Kylo to Hux when he sensed it was hurting.

Being on Starkiller gave Hux a certain feeling of freedom. He was still running the Finalizer, although most of his orders were given through Kylo. He was also able to get hands on with the problems his super-weapon was facing. It allowed him to flex his mental capabilities and not have to worry about Snoke suddenly sending him into the field to rescue Kylo. And, Hux realised as he pulled out a motherboard set into the central controls of Starkiller, working like this made it hard to even spend time thinking of Kylo.

“This is an easy to fix problem,” He said to the head technician with an icy glare. “It’s just time consuming. Every connected from wiring to board needs a connection cover, like this, you can get the droids to do so. While we’re on the subject of problems, where is there a big hold in the side of the planet?”

“It’s the thermal oscillator General.” The technician replied, “The planet needs one to stabilise the amount of power that we’re trying to amass inside it.”

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes had become a norm for him, Hux decided, the restraint showing as just a twitch of anger in his temple. Starkiller was his own design, he knew why it had to have a thermal oscillator, but they hadn’t built it according to his plans. He had originally designed it to be much smaller, and with more than one, which would produce the exact same result but stop any attempts to destroy the weapon as had happened with the Death Star. The technician was squirming under his glare and Hux had the overwhelming urge to slap the man.

“The planet’s shields are fully operational?” He inquired instead, hands curled into fists behind his back.

“Yes General,” The technician nodded, “Those were the easiest things to establish.”

“Good. You will find a way to have some sort of shield placed over that ridiculous hole since you were either too lazy to follow my plans, or have found some reason why you couldn’t and have failed to notify me.” Hux had to take a calming breath part way through speaking in an effort not to terrify the man, although his expression seemed to be doing that anyway. “I don’t care if you have to build a casing over it to prevent any attacks from taking hold and destroying us before we’re on our feet. We have the droid power to do so. Get it covered up and get it done now. We cannot take the chance that anyone might find out what we’re doing and attempt to stop and you made it really easy, congratulations.”

The technician flinched at the harshness of Hux’s words, but he opened his mouth to speak regardless. Hux quirked an eyebrow, which made him second guess himself, salute Hux and then walk off. Hux walked in the opposite direction, towards the engine room. The engine parts of the weapon, used to manoeuvre the canon and power the base, was malfunctioning as well. Hux hadn’t played with engines since his early twenties when his career as an officer had really taken off, but there had always been something alluring to him about the smell of the motor oil used on engines. It was the scent of a job well done. Hux had been told once that if you didn’t get messy when working with an engine then it didn’t need messing with, and though he couldn’t remember who said it, he believed it still.

This particular problem seemed to be with the caging components holding the wires and pipes in place were falling off due to the heat that was generated for running Starkiller. This caused the pipes to sag slightly, and the wires to become tangled and sometimes fray. They needed to be reattached and reinforced against the heat with an outer layer of sealing paint. Hux had been able to diagnose that problem with seconds of the mechanic listing the problems. It had made the mechanic flush and admit he had believed that too, but his superior had wanted proof and wouldn’t turn Starkiller’s main generators off to see. They were off now and had been since Hux had come planet-side and Hux had taken the name of the superior man so he could have a “talk” with him later. Now he was standing at an open floor hatch with the mechanic, fastening his utility belt around his waist, and taking a portable welding torch, goggles and paint.

“General, I can fix the problem if it can be identified you don’t have to-.”

“Starkiller is my project,” Hux interupted, “If she is having a problem, believe me I’m capable of fixing her. Once I have established a pattern I’ll come back up and tell you.”

The mechanic looked a little uncomfortable, wanting to protest again but knowing it was useless. Hux removed his outer tunic and folded it neatly before putting it aside of the hatch he had to slip into. It was a tight squeeze, but he was lean enough to be able to slip between the mass of metal and wires easily. His portable commlink buzzed in his ear, making him jump as he fastened the welding goggles around his eyes.

“This is General Hux.” He said, not bothering to check who was calling him. He had found the first loose metal casing and was using the spanner in the utility belt to unscrew the rest of the bolts that hadn’t melted in the heat. Once he had it off, he could reposition it and weld it back on, then cover it with sealant paint and move on to the next one. Since Starkiller was currently running on backup generators whilst the repairs were done, the metal, wires and pipes were cool to the touch. 

“ _I’m aware.”_ Kylo’s voice came through the comm. He wasn’t wearing his helmet, Hux notice, as he voice was soft. He nearly headbutted the large pipe running ahead of him and cursed. “ _What are you doing?”_

“Something below my paygrade because no one else seems to take initiative or listen to those that actually know what they’re doing. And I don’t trust a droid to get it right first time, surprisingly.” Hux replied through gritted teeth, wrestling with a particular stubborn bolt before it popped out and the caging fell to the floor. “What do you want Ren?”

“ _The Supreme Leader has a mission for me. He wanted your input into chain of command.”_

“Mitaka and Phasma can do it between them, they have before. Besides, I’m still running the Finalizer, so it doesn’t matter.” Hux grunted, firing up the welding torch and listening to the crackle fill up the small space he was in.

_“Are you setting something on fire?”_

“Yes.”

Welding the caging back into place, and carefully not burning his fingers in the process, Hux took out the paint and applied a lavish amount. They had a lot to spare, and he could afford to use a lot to avoid this problem in the future. His fingers were already starting to become slightly slippery and black from the oil used to keep the engines running. Luckily it had been specially mixed to make sure it wasn’t flammable, something Hux had ordered after a mechanic had blown up part of the engine while welding something else.

_“Why are you setting things on fire?”_

“Because some things need setting fire to.” Hux replied, sitting back and admiring his handiwork. It was a little shaky but he was confident it would hold. “I’m welding if you really want to know.”

He could practically hear Kylo smirking. _“I wish I could see you welding. Are you wearing the goggles?”_

“No, I’m doing it without them because I want to go blind,” Hux snapped, “Do you need something other than to tell me you’re leaving? I’m trying to work.” He smudged oil on his cheek as he spoke, and grimaced.

_“You’re filthy.”_

“Don’t pretend you can see me. Answer my question Ren.”

“ _You’re thinking about. I just wanted to…talk. Before I go. You can go and do your work I won’t bother you.”_

“What you’re just going to listen to me weld and curse and probably burn myself?” Hux inquired sceptically, “That’s creepy.”

Kylo didn’t reply and Hux wondered if he had hung up, but then he heard the distinct sound of Kylo shifting on the other end. Rolling his eyes, Hux carried on working, unscrewing loose metal casings and welding them back in place. He only nearly burnt himself once when Kylo had whispered _“Is it a tight squeeze where you are?”_ while he had been welding. Hux had shouted, and Kylo had apologised and asked if he was alright.

“I’m fine,” He huffed, knocking out one of the entrance panels above his head and climbing out. He was sweaty from the flames of the welding torch and was covered in a sheen of oil and ash except where the goggles had been. The mechanic had followed his path under the floor, and didn’t look surprised when Hux handed his gear back over.  
“Fetch you engineer droids and follow the path I’ve set already, and you should be done soon. We’ll do this line only for now and then test to see if it holds. If it does, get your teams on the rest. Make you sure get more paint if you need it, we need to use a lot.”

“Yes General!” The mechanic saluted and turned to go and find his droid team. Hux toed the panel back into place and left the goggles on a window ledge.

Walking slowly back the way he had come to get his tunic, Hux wanted nothing more than a shower and then a walk. Perhaps he would practise sniping when he had a break.

_“You brought your rifle?”_

“Are you still here?” Hux responded in annoyance, “Yes I did. Practise is practise, wherever you do it, Ren. Now get going on your mission.”

He hung up before Kylo could respond and Hux couldn’t supress a smirk at Kylo grumbling at the fact that the last person to order him to go on his mission had been Hux. He would go on it, but only because the original order had come from Snoke. Kylo hated Hux ordering him to do anything. It was why Hux did it so much.

After his shower Hux had a meeting about the logistics of Starkiller. It was frustrating him that it was taking so long, and so many things had been changed from his plans and he made it known. The theory was simple, but turning a planet into a super-weapon in practise was a lot more difficult. And some of the labourers didn’t think it would work in the long run. Hux casually mentioned that they could be replaced by people willing to get the job done. It was a thinly veiled threat of assassination and no one else made a complaint. The meeting itself was actually productive, Hux decided when they had called it a day. Tactical plans had been made, and Hux had set out a strategy for fixing all the problems within two weeks to get them back on track.

With all his meetings and jobs done for the day, Hux collected his rifle and headed out of the base. Starkiller was situated on a freezing planet, with high wind speeds and it was generally snowing. The conditions weren’t perfect for a sniper, but then they weren’t always guaranteed to be, and Hux hadn’t shot in conditions like this for a long time. Practise would be good.

He wrapped up warm in a greatcoat and scarf, rifle case tucked under his right arm. It was the night of his seventh day on Starkiller by the time he had finally perfected his shot, hitting a bullseye on a roughly made target. In the darkness Starkiller was even colder and Hux felt the frost biting at the tip of his nose. His stomach was rumbling and the warmth of his blankets was very inviting. In the last week he had barely slept, working himself to the bone to fix the problems facing his weapon, and then practising until late into the night. He ate at random intervals and he was starting to feel a little delirious and was determined to sleep for a full night tonight so he was fresh in the morning. As he reached the door back into the main base his commlink rang again, making him jump.

“This is General Hux.”

“ _…Is that your only greeting?”_

“Ren?” Hux exclaimed, rubbing his arms as he pulled the door open and slipped inside. The Stormtroopers guarding it on the inside saluted as he walked past them, “I thought you were on a mission?”

“ _I am. But I wanted to talk to you.”_

“Ren that’s ridiculous.” Hux sighed, crossing to the conservator and withdrawing a bottle of milk. He had planned to make himself some caf, but he wanted to sleep tonight, so hot chocolate made with milk would have to do him.

_“Can we not swap stories again?”_

There was something about Kylo’s voice that made Hux picture him lying on his stomach wherever he was, arms bunched around his pillow, head mostly buried in it and shoulders hunched. It was not an endearing thought, but at the same time Hux couldn’t find himself turning Kylo away.

“I’m tired Ren, make it quick.”

“ _Tell me about your day.”_

The request caught Hux off-guard and he stared at the mug of hot chocolate he had made. “You asked me for a story,” He said slowly.

“ _And your daily activities are a story. Do you want me to go first?”_

“Can you?” Hux asked drily, “You’re on a mission for Leader Snoke, I doubt you can tell me details.”

“ _Not details but I can tell you some things that happened?”_

Hux rubbed his hand across his eyes and sipped his hot chocolate slowly. He was tired, too tired to entertain Kylo, but his voice was rather soothing after the stressful day he had had. That thought in itself was enough to disturb Hux, and he was tempted to hang up the call.

“I yelled at a few people, did some more welding, climbed down into the actual canon to find out why it’s making weird noises and I finally hit my target in practise.” Hux listed off his activities dully, sinking down onto the edge of his bed and beginning to undress. “And now I’m getting ready for bed.”

“ _Are you warm enough? I know you’re not sleeping properly I can feel it.”_

“Stars, Ren what are you my mother?!” Hux snapped, “What do you want?”

Silence followed his words and Hux reached up to pull out his portable commlink when he heard Kylo mutter something.

“What was that?”

“ _I…miss training with you.”_

It wasn’t what he meant and Hux knew it. Kylo was admitting to missing Hux himself and his brain crashed as he tried to process that information. He was definitely too tired for this.

_“I mean…that sort of came out wrong.”_ Kylo was huffing now, trying to reword what he had said to make it seem less like “I miss you” but it had already been said and there was nothing he could do to take it back. “ _I don’t want to be your mortal enemy, Hux.”_

“Since when did you become a mortal enemy? You’re just an annoying entity that I have to put it with for reasons beyond my understanding.” Hux responded. It was harsh and he knew it but this was so sudden and he was tired and hungry and Kylo was probably hundreds of miles away lying alone on a planet while Hux was sat in his tank top and underwear listening to his sleepy musings. It was not really how this conversation should have happened, but Kylo was impulsive. He needed Hux to know.

“ _Well I don’t want to be that! Hux…did you not think we sort of…connected on Akiva?”_

“Because we told stories?” Hux snorted, “Please. There’s nothing between us Ren. We’re too different.”

“ _Are we?”_

“You are the most chaotic person I have ever met Ren.” Hux spoke as if he was speaking to a child and he could tell Kylo’s was bristling at the tone. “And I like order and schedules and books. You thought I was boring until it was revealed I could fight. I’m sure we’re talked about this already.”

_“I know. I did think you were. And I find politics boring Hux, I always have and I always will but…you’re not just some politically driven history buff.”_

“Buff? Really? That’s the word you’re going to use? Have you been hit on the head?” Hux inquired, barely holding back his laughter.

Kylo was struggling to keep his cool on the other end of the call, but Hux would prefer him lose his temper than admit there was some truth to the other’s words.

_“Will you listen to me?!”_ Kylo demanded. Hux bit back a retort and waited. _“We could be more powerful if we got along. And…I don’t think you’re that boring, I just never saw it before because you never showed it. And I don’t go deep diving in your head because you asked me not too. Hux, you’re the only person I know that isn’t afraid of me, that I can see as…a friend?”_

In an involuntary movement of panic Hux grabbed his commlink and hung up the call before throwing it across the room. It was ridiculous and childish and probably upset Kylo, but Hux couldn’t take it. A friend in Kylo Ren? The idea was…not that bad. They had really clicked on Akiva during their story-telling, and the training was fun. The insults and the arguments would never stop, Hux and Kylo were not the type of people that would always gel well. Especially when it came to commanding the Finalizer. But they could also talk, they’d proven that to each other a few times. And Hux had to admit it would be easier, and they would be more powerful if they could work together.

Standing and picking up his commlink, Hux connected it to his Datapad so they could holocall instead. He needed to see Kylo’s face. It took five rings for him to answer, and when he did he had his face buried in a pillow.

“Ren, what are you doing?” Hux asked, shaking his head.

_“I don’t want to talk to you Hux,”_

“Then why did you answer?”

_“I thought it might have been the Supreme Leader.”_ Kylo was lying, but Hux didn’t call him out on it.

He sighed instead. “Kylo, look at me.”

Kylo did, lifting his head up and propping himself up on his shoulders. He looked angry, but his expression grew softer when he met Hux’s eyes. Hux wasn’t sure what sort of expression he was making, but clearly it wasn’t one of contempt, as Kylo would have pointed it out.

“I agree that we would be more powerful if we could along. And things would run a lot smoother. The title of ‘friends’ is not something I’m overly familiar with, so forgive me for my reaction. I’m also lacking sleep and not really in the right state to be discussing this but…perhaps we could settle for acquaintances?” His own point came out in a rather jumbled manner.

Kylo chuckled. _“You took a long time to just admit we should be friends. And that you want to be.”_

“Shut up.”

_“When I’m back of my mission I’m going to come and see you.”_ Kylo admitted, “ _On Starkiller if you’re still there. I can help get it fixed.”_

“The Force would come in handy for some parts,” Hux mused, then realised what he had said when he saw Kylo smirk. “You will never hear me say that again. It’s because I’m tired!”

“ _Sure,”_ Kylo laughed, “ _I’ll let you get some sleep. You need it. Umm…sorry for just burdening this on you but, I had to get it off my chest. Goodnight, General.”_

Hux allowed himself a small smile. “Goodnight, Ren.”

\--

Kylo arrived on Starkiller at an inopportune moment for Hux. He was inside the rocket ports with a few engineer droids, welding the last components in. These had been the last thing he had wanted to work on, but getting the planet sufficiently mobile would be good, allowing to move into a more hidden position. Hux was alone now, the droids having moved off to do something more finicky inside the actual thruster.

It had been three weeks since he had arrived on Starkiller and most of the repairs and changes had been carried out. Hux had looked at the logistics of changing the thermal oscillator to follow his original design, but it would cause too much disruption to do now, so he just had to hope the technicians and engineers working on it would get a cover on it. The metal caskets had all been welded into placed and they were working and the wiring had been sorted. Hux had nearly fired the man working on the planetary shields, as he had put the controls all in one place, which made sabotage easier. Other than that it was just malfunctions with the other machinery dotted around the base, which Hux had sometimes ordered droids to deal with and had sometimes dealt with himself.

Morale had been boosted amongst the human workers when he got stuck in helping them, Hux noticed. They saw him not only as the man giving the order, but someone who knew what he was talking about and that could help them. Hux had never believed he would allow himself to get so dishevelled in front of his subordinates, but it was easy to just slip into some engineer overalls, strap a utility belt on and get to work. That, and he didn’t always trust them to get it right, since so many of his plans had already been changed. It was going to take them a little longer than two weeks, but Hux had been too optimistic considering the size of the planet. But it was working. It would all fall into place soon. They could test her soon.

And so Hux had decided to start on the wiring and configuration of the rocket ports that would propel Starkiller through the different star systems. He was dressed in overalls this time, having taken some from the stores on the base, with welding goggles on again. The welding torch was warm in his hands, and his hands and face were smudged with lubricating oil and ash when footsteps sounded on the metal around him. Hux ignored them. He knew it wasn’t a droid, but the other engineers were helping on the ports as well.

It was only when he felt the presence of someone standing over him that Hux turned off the welding torch and turned. Kylo stood there, helmeted, cowled and cloaked, arms folded and Hux knew he was smirking even though he couldn’t see his face.

“Well, seems like I came at a good time.” Kylo said, looking Hux up and down. “I never knew you were so hands on.”

Biting back a response of “there’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Ren, we’ve already established this”, Hux stood and slid the torch into a holder on his belt.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, glancing to see if anyone was around them. He could hear the droids chirping to each other and occasionally doing something that made a lot of noise, but other than that they were alone.

“I told you I was going to come and see you when I finished my mission,” Kylo reminded him, “Have you fixed the problem of the incompetent ones yet?”

“Most,” Hux nodded, “There are just a few normal malfunctions that always happen with machines that need sorting out. The big problems are done with anyway.”

“And now you’re working on making the planet mobile? Wasn’t that the most important thing?” Kylo inquired.

“No, getting the weapon situated and making sure that it was a viable idea was the most important thing. There’s no point having a mobile hunk of rock in space if the weapon built into it doesn’t work.” Hux replied, “So now the weapon seems to be mostly finished we’re working on this.”

“Would you like some help?” Kylo suggested, “I’m pretty good with my hands.”

“Have you ever built rocket ports before?” Hux asked sceptically.

“No,” Kylo said honestly, “Have you?”

“On a smaller scale.” Hux admitted after a moment. “If you can find overalls that fit you, come and find me.”

Kylo nodded and turned to walk off. Hux pulled the goggles back down and went back to welding. His heart was beating quite quickly at the idea of Kylo coming back to him to help him build Starkiller. The fact that he had indeed made good on his decision to come and see Hux made him feel something indescribable, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. A droid approached him, clicking and chirping at him.

“The wires have come loose?” Hux questioned, and the droid nodded. “In which port? The right one? Okay, well let me finish here and I’ll come over.”

Again the droid clicked, indicating to Hux that it could continue with Hux’s welding work.

“Shouldn’t it be easier for a droid to work on the wiring?” Hux asked in annoyance, pushing up his goggles and securing his torch to his belt again. The droid stared at him. Hux stared back. He had given an order for all human personnel to make sure the droids knew to defer to him before they fixed an unforeseen problem, but this was a bit ridiculous.

Sighing, Hux nodded and allowed the droid to take his place. He headed down towards the end of the rocket port. They were working on them inside the planet, with the ports on large rolling platforms that would position them just outside the planets crust to give the thrust the planet needed. Hux hadn’t wanted to take the chance that someone would slide out of the end into space when working on them, especially since he was going to be working on them as well. The area was small, mostly taken up by the rocket ports, so it meant that to get from one to the other Hux would either have to climb back up the left port and then down the right one, which would take some time, or he could be winched up to the top of the left one and swing over to the right one.

Using his commlink he contacted the engineer working on winching parts into place. “Have a line descend to the end of the left port, I will be using it to switch from one to the other.” He ordered.

_“Yes, General Hux.”_

The wire appeared almost immediately and Hux fastened it to his belt, tugging it once to show the engineer he was ready. It was a short, fast ride up to the top of the port, and when he was there Hux unhooked himself. The engineer moved the winch to the exact middle point between the two thrusters, and locked it in place. Hux looked at the gap. He had done this jump many times, and there had never been a problem. He could have just had himself winched over from one side to the other, but this was a bit more fun, and it was something the human engineers had introduced him too. Hux was a proud man, he could do the things everyone else did.

“ _The line is ready, General.”_

“I can see that.”

His skills as a sniper really came into use for this, Hux mused as he took a few running steps and leapt for the wire. His hands closed around it easily and his momentum carried him forward until his feet brushed the right rocket port. Analysing the situation told him whether he could make it or not, and he could tell if there were any problems, anything that would stop it from being a clear leap and landing. Unluckily he hadn’t taken into account the lubricant oil coated on his overalls, shoes and hands, and he slipped as he let go of the wire. The engineer shouted something as Hux fell, overbalancing and tipping over the edge of the port.

A hand wrapped around his arm and Hux’s fall stopped immediately. Glancing he saw Kylo standing on the rocket port as well, hand out, using the Force to stop Hux’s fall. He had found overalls, although they were a bit short so he had rolled them up his arms and also up his legs slightly. His black hair was tied back in a loose bun, and he had a strange expression on his face. It was partially worried, partially smug.

“Very impressive Ren, can you let go of me now?” Hux snapped, quickly losing patience with him as he hovered slightly over the edge of safety.

“If I do you’ll fall.” Kylo replied with a smirk. He stepped forward and replaced the Force hold with his actual hand, pulling Hux to his feet and securing him. “That was an impressive jump, General.”

“We’re going inside the port to fix some malfunctioning wiring, Ren.” Hux replied, ignoring the comment, “So get yourself winched down when I’m done.”

As Kylo opened his mouth to reply, most likely to tell Hux that he didn’t need to use the winch, Hux pulled his arm free and walked off. The line came back and Hux used it to lower himself to the edge of the right port. A droid was waiting to show him the problem, and he followed it without waiting for Kylo. He was close behind anyway, Hux could feel him.

“How good are you with your hands?” Hux asked when they were alone with a mess of wiring.

“Considering all the things you’ve done since getting here not as good as you, but I’m good enough to help.” Kylo shrugged, “Just tell me what you want me to do.”

They worked side by side for a few hours, Hux telling Kylo what to do and Kylo doing it, for the most part. It was hard, getting the wiring right so the thrusters would actually have proper power, and it was gruelling work too. Hux wouldn’t have been able to do it himself, but Kylo had some good input and instincts, and helped a lot. While they worked Kylo told Hux about his mission, how he had partially succeeded and the Supreme Leader would have need for him to go somewhere else again soon. He was free for now, and this was a welcome break. Hux told him about the repairs and developments of Starkiller, complained to him a lot about all the changes to his plans that had been made, and showed him the various burns he had gotten from welding and touching hot components by accident.

“That one looks bad,” Kylo pointed out, nodding at a long burn on Hux’s forearm. It was still bright red against Hux’s pale skin, but had long since healed thanks to a quickly applied bacta patch.

“Oh yeah I got my arm caught reaching behind some steam pipes. Couldn’t tell anyone before they turned them on.” Hux said it so casually, like it wasn’t a problem and Kylo gawped at him.

“That could have been really bad?”

“Well it wasn’t. Pass me the pliers.”

After four hours of snipping, soldering, untangling and fitting wires Hux was ready for a break. He had been working for over eight hours now without a break, and his hands were shaking. Kylo had noticed, and was about to suggest they stopped when a call came through to Hux’s comm.

_“General, the repairs to the main shaft of the weapon have been completed, if you’d like to come and see them?”_ It was the mechanic that had realised what had been wrong with the heating systems, whose name Hux had found out was Charleston.

“I will be there shortly.” Hux confirmed.

“How do we get out of here?” Kylo inquired.

“The same way you originally got in,” Hux replied, “We climb out.”

“Are you strong enough for that?”

Hux shot him a withering look, collecting all his tools and slipping them into his belt. He really just wanted a shower and a sleep, but these repairs had been crucial and Hux had had very specific instruction. It was why he had left Charleston in charge of it, the man had a good head on his shoulders.

There wasn’t a lot of room climbing out of the rocket ports, and Hux found it was even more difficult with someone as large as Kylo. They ended up pressed up against each other at one point, as Hux loosened a hatch that would allow them out. Kylo brought a hand up and gently rubbed at some of the grime covering Hux’s cheek. Hux froze.

“Your eyes really stand out,” Kylo breathed, “They’re a beautiful colour.”

Suddenly the grime wasn’t such a bad thing, it hid the blush that bloomed across his cheeks at those words.

“Ren you’re so sappy,” Was the only reply he could muster, and he forced the hatch open with more strength then was necessary. He climbed out first, helped by the engineer in charge of the winch. Kylo followed closely, not taking his offered help. “Send some droids down there to finish what we started,” Hux ordered, “I’m going to check on repairs elsewhere.”

“Yes General, I received a message as well. There’s a cart there waiting to take you.” The engineer said.

The relief Hux felt that he wouldn’t have to walk any part of the journey was immense, but he didn’t let it show. Kylo followed him to the cart. It was a simple construct, two seats set on top of rolling casters. It was propelled along a track that ran around the entire interior of Starkiller and was used to get from place to place quickly. Whoever had decided on this deserved a raise, Hux decided as he settled in and Kylo sat next to him with ease.

“Have you been sleeping properly?” Kylo asked quietly as the cart began moving and whizzed through the planet. “You look exhausted.

“How can you tell?” Hux asked, chuckling despite himself. “I’m filthy.”

Kylo grinned as Hux used his own previous wording and reached up again to brush some of the grime and oil off Hux’s face. The General brought a hand up to block him. Kylo didn’t lower his hand, leaving it resting against Hux’s.

“Have you been sleeping?” Kylo repeated.

“Yes.” Hux mumbled his reply, suddenly extremely aware of all the places his body was touching Kylo’s. “Mostly. It’s hard, my mind is in overdrive right now.”

“I can tell.” Kylo murmured, “It’s very loud now. But it’s too loud. You’re overtired, you need to get some proper sleep.”

“I will when everything has finished,” Hux said, rolling his shoulders. He side-eyed Kylo, wondering if he would press the issue.

“I was surprised when I saw you,” Kylo continued speaking but changed the subject. “I hadn’t imagined I’d see you showing yourself like this to your subordinates.”

“It’s actually been boosting morale. The men actually like to see me working among them, actually getting my hands stuck in.” Hux explained, “I worked in my own clothes at first, but it’s getting hard to get oil out of them. So I borrowed some overalls.”

“Are you eating in the cantina and hanging out with them?” Kylo teased.

Hux glared at him. “I’m still their General, I just can do things with my hands.”

Kylo lowered his hand and rested it back on his thigh. Their shoulders were now pressed together along with their thighs. Hux tried to concentrate on the repairs he was going to review, on anything that wasn’t Kylo. Their conversation ended, Kylo closing his eyes and enjoying the rush of air as they rushed through the planet towards the main weapon shaft.

Charleston had done a good job, and Hux didn’t have anything negative to say. He praised the mechanic, and made him blush, before telling him that he wasn’t going to be available for the rest of the night. All other repairs would be handled by the droids, mechanics, engineers and technicians. Hux was done for the day, as was Kylo. They walked together to Hux’s rooms, and Hux lingered at the door before going inside.

“You have your own rooms, Ren. Why are you following me?” He asked.

“Can’t I shower with you?” Kylo asked. He had a lopsided grin on that made it hard for Hux to tell whether he was joking or serious. The former was easier to deal with, the latter was slightly appealing and that made Hux panic a little bit.

“You may…shower in my rooms but not with me.” He replied after a moment, and Kylo looked so shocked at Hux’s decision that his mouth dropped open. It looked ridiculous, and Hux had to bite back a laugh. “Are you coming in or not?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Things escalated a little quickly from there. Hux showered first, dressed in the bathroom and slid into his desk chair while Kylo went into the shower next. Hux worked a little bit on some reports from the Finalizer, and signed off on some financial reports for the repairs to Starkiller. The shower turned off and Kylo came out with a towel around his waist. Hux had been a little lost for words, and Kylo had smirked. Strolled over to the desk, bent down and brought his face close to Hux’s own. Their eyes locked. Something passed unsaid between them. Kylo had lent down further and pressed a soft kiss to Hux’s lips. Hux had tensed, pushed him away in panic, and his hands shook again. Kylo looked confused. And then suddenly he was outside Hux’s room wearing only a towel, and Hux was locking the door and mumbling words that were a mixture of apologies and angered insults.

“Hux!” Kylo exclaimed, banging on the door. “You can’t leave me out here! Please!”

“But you can just kiss me?” Hux demanded, leaning against the other side of the door. “Why?”

“I’m sorry. My feelings for you have been all over the place. It just seemed like a good idea.” Kylo’s voice was shaking, and Hux was tempted to open the door again.

He didn’t.

“Didn’t you want to be friends?” Hux’s own voice broke over the word ‘friend’ and Kylo heard it. Hux heard Kylo places his hands on the door, directly opposite where his own were, and they both sighed. “Friends don’t kiss.”

“Can we be just friends?” Kylo countered, “Look at us Hux. We barely get along. We can talk and we can train but we don’t get on. Not properly. I don’t understand friendship. Neither do you. But we can be…something. I don’t know what. It’s not like we’re just colleagues, people working for the same goal. It’s more. You know it. I know it. I’m sorry I kissed you. I don’t know why I did it. I never even had the urge to it just felt…right? I don’t know.”

Hux rested his head against the door as well and took a calming breath. Neither of them wanted to kiss the other. At the same time, they could both admit they found the other attractive, that was something Hux was sure of. Whatever their relationship had become since Snoke had revealed Hux’s talents was bizarre and stupid and they didn’t understand it. This was a mess. It was exactly why Hux had always told himself to never get involved emotionally with people. He wasn’t good at it. And Kylo was worse, if this show was anything to go by. But talking with him was nice. And training with him was painful but rewarding. Even working together to build Starkiller had been pleasant.

Hux unlocked the door. Kylo stared at him, looking as confused as Hux felt.

“Come in. I’ll find you something to wear. We should talk.” He ordered. Kylo wasted no time coming inside, and Hux locked the door again when they were both inside.

“Shall we swap stories?” Kylo suggested, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room as Hux scoured the clothes he had on Starkiller for something that would at least fit Kylo.

“Sure. I’ve got more scars. So do you. Start with that.” Hux agreed, pulling some loose pants and a baggy tank top from a drawer. He had no idea where they had come, but they looked like regulation clothes that had been stretched during the washing process. They’d fit Kylo well enough so it didn’t matter.

Kylo grinned as he put them. “Let me tell you about the time I was nearly impaled on a tree.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Who gave Kylux permission to be so dumb about love lmao~~  
>  There will be more sniping action soon /o/


	7. Explosion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snoke has a mission for Hux to strike a blow to the Resistance. Hux has a bad feeling about it, and is it with good reason?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **drops this here and flees**

 

 

Snoke did not seem as interested in the report on the repair and continuation of Starkiller Base as Hux believed he should be. He had listened to Hux with seeming full attention, commented and praised Hux for his quick thinking and hands on approach, but his overall affect was impatient. It didn’t fill Hux with confidence, but Kylo was stood a little closer to him than normal, their fingers brushing whenever one of them shifted and that gave him some comfort. He had been on the Finalizer for roughly an hour before Snoke had ordered him into an emergency meeting, and Kylo had accompanied him silently. Hux’s suspicions that something else was going on were soon confirmed when Snoke began speaking on an entirely different subject.

“I believe Starkiller will soon be ready and that is good. However General, you will not be resting on the Finalizer for long.”

“Supreme Leader?”

“While you were gone on your mission to Starkiller, we received information that the Resistance are stockpiling weapons on Akiva.” Snoke elaborated.

Hux glanced at Kylo’s but his attention was solely on Snoke.

“Akiva?” He questioned.

It couldn’t be a coincidence that it was that planet again. As far as Hux was aware the Resistance didn’t have a strong foothold on Akiva, despite it being a New Republican planet, but clearly he was wrong. And despite the fiasco that Kylo had caused when he had first gone to the planet, Snoke was confident enough to send them back. Kylo shifted uncomfortably and Hux realised why he had received a call from Kylo the night he had been on a mission. He had been on Akiva, and he had called Hux because that it where it had started, this strange relationship of theirs.

“As you know General, the planet is loyal to the New Republic, and the Resistance would have the power to move freely there.” Snoke spoke again, bringing Hux’s attention back to him. “It is also on many trade routes, which would make it easy for the Resistance to blend in and escape. And this information was delivered from a good source, an ally of ours in the New Republic.”

“Senator Ro-Kiintor then?” Hux guessed, “We’ve had personal dealings as well. I wouldn’t trust his information too much Supreme Leader. Is his evidence sound?”

“That is where you come in General?” Snoke replied evenly. “Akiva is a good planet to hide on. And it’s not a place we would assume the Resistance is on. We cannot allow the Resistance to stockpile weapons, however small of a collection it may be.”

Hux frowned, but didn’t speak straight away. More field work. It didn’t bother him, but he had been looking forward to spending a little time as General Hux again, striding the Finalizer and working from the comfort of his flagship.

“Scout the planet,” “Snoke ordered, “Find out where the Resistance Base is and survey it. Do not engage, but investigate and map the area, and inside the base if you can. Find out what weapons they have. Be discreet and take the SU division with you. When you have all the information you can gather, contact Lord Ren. He will come with a contingent of Stormtroopers. The SU division will cover from the outside while he gains access and destroys the base and the weapons inside. You shall accompany him.” The plan was outlined in a steady voice, but Hux still had a feeling there was something more to this.

“Supreme Leader, if I may.” He began carefully. Snoke waved his hand to confirm he could speak and Hux carefully picked his words. “I’m a little suspicious of where this information came from. Why the Senator would send this information to us suddenly. I have a feeling that was not all he sent, and he was searching for something else when he stumbled over this. I would like to know his true intentions, if I am to be sent on this mission. I do not believe this a sniper mission, that an air strike and Stormtroopers would be sufficient.”

Snoke surveyed him silently. Kylo was staring at him too. Hux stood his ground, unafraid of them.

“There are also a few problems with the plan.” Snoke’s eyes narrowed as Hux continued. “We have people on Akiva, contacts that can scout for us. When we know the location then myself and the SU division can then go planet side. If we go beforehand it could lose us precious time and increases the chances of us getting caught. Also-.”

“General,” Snoke interupted, voice booming through the chamber. Kylo was very still by Hux’s side and Hux fell silent, although he could not contain the displeasure at being interupted from showing on his face. Snoke did not care. “In as far as the plan is concerned, I am giving you full control. Change it as you wish, as long as the results are the same.”

“Yes, Supreme Leader.”

“As for your other point, you are too clever for your own good General,” Snoke snapped, the force in his tone nearly sending Hux stumbling. Kylo’s hand came to the small of his back, steadying him. Hux didn’t mention it. “There were archives on Akiva, as you know. You rescued Lord Ren from them. Do you know of Luke Skywalker?”

Hux’s eyebrows rose. “The Jedi that disappeared?”

“The very same.” Snoke confirmed. “We already had some clues as to his whereabouts, and Lord Ren has been searching for further information. The Senator has found further evidence of Skywalker’s location. During his transmission he also informed us of evidence he had for a Resistance Base on Akiva.”

“And you want me to go in case I overhear anything important?” Hux inquired.

“You catch on quickly.” Snoke nodded. “And Lord Ren is going there to see if he can gather any information using the Force. The Resistance needs to be weakened before any information regarding Skywalker becomes available to them. These missions are not interlinked General. If no information is presented, it will not matter. Destroy the weapons and the base and Skywalker is something Lord Ren and I will deal with.”

“I understand, Supreme Leader. My hands are at your disposal.” Hux said, deciding that was the safest thing to say. He had a lot of arguments over why they shouldn’t be trusting the Senator’s information, but Snoke was not in the mood to hear them. He was also still convinced that this was not a sniper mission, that this could be dealt with without the effort Snoke was taking.

Kylo hadn’t moved since Skywalker had been mentioned.

“Very well. Prepare for this mission, General.” Snoke ordered, his holo fading as he did.

Hux didn’t wait for him to completely disappear but he turned and stalked from the room. Kylo followed him at a distance, sensing Hux’s annoyance, until finally as they were about to round a corner onto a main corridor, he reached forward and grabbed Hux’s pinkie finger with his index.

Hux stopped walking.

“Did the Senator send any information about where on the planet the Resistance was?” He asked, glancing up and wishing Kylo wasn’t wearing his helmet.

“No.” Kylo shook his head, “No, just somewhere south.”

“That man is useless.” Hux spat, “And the plan put out by the Supreme Leader is terrible. I don’t understand what he’s thinking.”

“Snoke wants to strike the Resistance, and shake them. He sees things as a bigger picture, much bigger than us. He won’t explain himself, not to anyone.” Kylo explained quietly, “He trusts you and your instincts.”

“My instincts are telling me this is wrong.” Hux stated, still focused on where Kylo’s eyes would be behind the mask. “My instincts are telling me that the Senator shouldn’t have access to that sort of information. That the Resistance doesn’t have a presence on Akiva, not enough to be able to stockpile weapons. The New Republic only lowkey supports them Ren, they’re not going to allow them to collect weapons on one of their main planets.”

“You think it’s a trap?” Kylo questioned, “The Supreme Leader would have-.”

“Seen the bigger picture only.” Hux finished. “That’s the problem with thinking like that Ren, you always miss something. He’s focused on finding Skywalker, and on making sure the Resistance can’t. So he’ll miss the little things. The things that niggle at the back of your mind and warn you something is wrong.”

Kylo didn’t reply but Hux could tell from how his index finger curled tightly around Hux’s pinkie that he was considering Hux’s words and the connotation worried him.

“We should train together.” Kylo blurted out suddenly, changing the subject. Hux stared at him, confused. They were stood close together, hiding their linked fingers from anyone that might pass by. “I don’t like thinking about Skywalker…about this whole subject it makes it…difficult to concentrate. I like training with you.”

“I need to make a plan first and debrief the SU division. And everyone else this affects.” Hux pulled his finger free but he didn’t move straight away. “Maybe later.”

Kylo nodded and followed him through the Finalizer. Hux reached for his commlink and ordered Mitaka, Phasma and the SU division to congregate in one of the meeting rooms. The board room was a little crowded with the six strong Sniper Unit, Phasma, Mitaka and Hux, so Kylo kept to the corner near the door, leaning on the wall to listen.

“The Supreme Leader has received intel that the Resistance is stockpiling weapons to use against us.” Hux began. He set his Datapad on the table and with a few taps had brought up a holo of Akiva. The SU division shifted but remained silent. “And he wants myself and the SU division to go down to the planet and scout it out. Confirm the layout details, what weapons they are stockpiling and also provide support for Ren when he comes with Stormtroopers to destroy the stockpile.”

Hux paused. Techie was already opening his own Datapad to see if he could get any information on the buildings of Akiva. His determination was admirable, Hux thought, since they had no information on the location of the stockpile yet.

“We will soon be sending messages onto our scouts on Akiva to locate this stockpile before we go down. Lieutenant I shall leave that to you, give the right orders to the right people.” Hux continued.

“Yes General!” Mitaka saluted. He made to leave but Hux cleared his throat and he stopped.

“We do not know how long we will be gone for. Scouting can take anywhere for a few days to a few weeks, and we cannot give an estimate as of yet until we see the base for ourselves.” Hux said, his voice tight. There were so many problems with this plan, and it made him wonder why Snoke was so intent on going after this with snipers. The jungles of Akiva allowed for perfect cover, and they would be able to clear a path but Phasma and her troops, as well as Ren were more than capable of doing that as well.

“Will I be leading the Finalizer in your absence, General?” Mitaka inquired quietly as Hux quietly seethed about the whole situation.

“Yes.” He confirmed. “Ren and Captain Phasma shall support you. The Supreme Leader has not mentioned if Captain Phasma will be involved in the main attack, therefore she may remain here to lead alongside you. I take it neither of you have any objections?”

They both shook their heads, although Hux could tell Phasma would have an issue if she wasn’t selected to help with this mission.

“Very well. Captain Phasma if you could oversee the selection of the Troopers to go under Ren’s command please. And Lieutenant, please have our scouts dispatched. I have sent what information I can to your Datapad for them to begin their search.” Hux requested.

“Yes, General.” Mitaka saluted and left immediately.

Phasma lingered for a moment. “General, I know the last word may be with Leader Snoke, but I would much like to lead this mission. Or co-lead with Lord Ren.” She stated, saluting as she spoke and turning to leave.

“I would like to have you too Captain,” Hux agreed, “I shall see what I can do.”

When she had left Hux turned to the SU division. Kylo came further into the room and took a seat now there was room.

“General if I may speak?” Trigger said, happy to speak now the room was mostly clear.

Hux nodded.

“Why does the Supreme Leader believe he needs snipers for this mission? Scouts would suffice and our weapons and armour are good enough to withstand whatever meagre weapons the Resistance have. Forgive me if I may be speaking out of turn, General but I do believe this to truly be a waste of time.”

Kylo frowned and glanced at Hux. He knew Hux agreed with the Trooper, although he wouldn’t admit it to Trigger. He didn’t need to. Trigger could read him as well as Kylo could, for he sat back in his seat and Kylo could feel the smugness coming off him. He shifted and focused on him.

_Don’t you dare do anything to him Ren._ The order came loud and clear from Hux’s mind. The General wasn’t looking at Kylo, still looking at the SU division and he was answering Trigger’s question.

Kylo frowned. _You don’t know I was going to do anything._

_I’m not stupid. He’s not insulting Snoke. Sniper missions pose threats, and he doesn’t want to put his division in any unnecessary danger._

_“_ I do appreciate your point, 001. However orders are orders. The main debrief will come when we have a location and we see what 006 can get for us in terms of blueprints. We will be colluding with Ren while we scout. He is going to come down when we have secured all the information needed and take out the base with Stormtroopers. I shall fight on the ground with him. You six shall provide cover. That is the basis of the plan so far.” Hux ignored any of Kylo’s other attempts to speak to him, folding his arms and frowning in annoyance. He was really not happy but he would follow Snoke’s orders. He liked his job too much to deny him.

“We shall prepare the tropical weapons again General.” Trigger said, glancing at the Trooper sitting on his left and right as he did. They nodded. “Is there anything else we need to know now?”

“Be ready to move out at a moment’s notice. And prepare your ghillie suits. We will be there longer this time, so we will need the camouflage. You can research Akiva’s jungles to make the right materials. I expect the scouts to have a location for us by the time we reach a secure location. We cannot go too close to Akiva in case the Finalizer is recognised, so a lot of the journey shall be by shuttle. We shall take one with a hyperdrive and get this over as soon as possible. Dismissed.”

The six Troopers stood, saluted Hux and then Kylo before leaving the two alone in the room. Hux sank into a chair and rested his head in his hands.

“What’s a ghillie suit?” Kylo asked.

“Something snipers wear to remain camouflaged. Most snipers make their own, so I needed to make sure the SU division each have one.” Hux replied, his voice slightly muffled by his hands. “This is wrong Ren.”

Kylo remained silent, waiting for Hux to continue.

“It just feels wrong. I told you my reasons before but…I just can’t shake this feeling. And it’s oddly timed. Starkiller is up and running nearly, and suddenly there’s news of Skywalker after silence for years, the Resistance is suddenly arming up as if for a real war and that information comes from a Senator with barely any pull.” Hux sat back up, interlinking his fingers behind his neck and resting his cheeks on his forearms, mind racing as he tried to fit all the pieces together. He glanced up when Kylo removed his helmet and placed it on the table with a heavy thud.

“Sometimes things all fall into place at once,” He said, “It’s the way the universe works. And I think the Supreme Leader doesn’t want to send in troops just in case something valuable can be gained from the Resistance. Like who is supplying them weapons, and what sort of weapons they’re gathering. Snipers are good at things like that.”

“As are scouts.” Hux huffed, “But he didn’t even consider them.”

“Scouts are not as impeccably trained as you.” Kylo pointed out, “You won’t fail him Hux.”

“I know you find it hard to criticise him Ren, he basically made you.” Hux said, “But you must see the countless problems with this? And how suspicious it is?”

“It’ll work out.”

It was a non-committal answer and it annoyed Hux. It showed on his face but Kylo didn’t say anything further. Hux was angry and tired, and felt stretched. Starkiller had taken a lot of work outside his normal duties, and though he had enjoyed it he wanted to return to normality. To rigorous schedules and order and things he knew. But now this had happened Snoke had thrown that into chaos.

Kylo reached across the table and without thinking Hux put one of his hands down for him. “You should sleep on this,” He suggested quietly. “You’ve been working so hard on Starkiller and you didn’t sleep properly.”

“There’s too much work for me to do to sleep.” Hux countered, pulling his hand back again and standing. He made to move to the door, so Kylo stood suddenly and blocked him.

“The Supreme Leader trusts you Hux. He trusts us. Whatever this is, whatever feeling you have, he will have prepared for it. Whatever it is he wants us to search for, that you feel he is searching for, he trusts you to find some evidence for it.”

“And what is he searching for?” Hux asked drily, “Luke Skywalker, the destruction of the Resistance or the cure to baldness?”

Kylo couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him at Hux’s words and even Hux had to fight back a smile. It had slipped out before he could stop it, a remnant of days spent listening to his father rattle of minor cosmetic problems with the people he hated to make himself feel better. It didn’t make Hux feel any better, but it broke the tension in the room.

“Get some sleep Hux,” Kylo repeated, his amusement still in his tone. “Spend time being General until the scout reports come in. Snoke can order you around Hux, but he can’t stop you from being who you are for the First Order.”

“And who is that?” Hux asked quietly, seeking out Kylo’s eyes again.

“You’re the brains.” Kylo murmured, “And the heart. The First Order turns to you, whether the orders come from Snoke or not. He is the Supreme Leader, but you are the face of the First Order, Hux. But you need to take care of yourself. So sleep this off, and then go back to being General. And don’t be paranoid about the Supreme Leader. It won’t end well.”

“I’m not paranoid about him,” Hux argued, “I’m paranoid we’re trusting a man we know isn’t loyal to anything but money.”

“The Supreme Leader will have looked out, seen what the Resistance was planning. You know we can’t let them arm themselves Hux. They’re not that big of a problem yet, the First Order is bigger, but if they do grow it could be a problem.” Kylo spoke with confidence, but he kept his eyes on Hux.

“Alright Ren.” Hux sighed, “This once I’ll take your advice and sleep. Then work as General and plan when the scouts come back to me.”

Kylo nodded with a small smile, replaced his helmet and stepped aside so Hux could leave.

It didn’t feel weird for them to walk side by side to Hux’s quarters until they got there, and Kylo made to follow Hux across the threshold. When Kylo had kissed Hux on Starkiller and they had spent the night talking, Kylo had slept on the couch in Hux’s rooms and nothing else had happened. Every night from then on, when sleeping on Starkiller, Kylo had slept in Hux’s rooms, on the couch. They had moved around each other in the morning, using the ‘fresher and the caf machine and planning what they were each going to do. Hux had eaten in his rooms and Kylo had usually joined him. It had become a comfortable routine.

Hux wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted it to continue.

“The couch in here isn’t as comfortable.” He said, avoiding Kylo’s gaze.

“I can sleep on the floor.” Kylo replied.

“Ren it’s…different on Starkiller. I basically became one of the engineers while I was there, and I’m General up here. You can’t…we can’t…we don’t even know what this is. Please just give me some space?” Hux requested quietly.

“Okay. Let’s train together again. I know it gets all the tension out of you.” Kylo agreed.

Hux shook his head with an unreadable expression on his face. Kylo could sense the fondness in his thoughts. “Get out of the doorway, Ren.”

\--

They did train again, but it took Hux a week to warm to the idea like it had last time. He threw himself into his duties as General with such fervour, Kylo would have been worried that Hux believed he was going to die during this mission if he hadn’t been able to poke at Hux’s thoughts. Hux liked this, being able to stride the bridge of the Finalizer, issue orders for the First Order, argue discreetly over something pointless Mitaka had found in a magazine one day. Of the three roles Kylo had seen Hux take, General was his favourite. It was where his hobbies and knowledge could shine.

The third training session was completely different to the first two. Hux was understandably wary of fighting with weapons after the injury last time. Kylo was more interested in learning some of Hux’s techniques, and showing Hux how different and more powerful he was when he battled using the Force. So, they swapped techniques, carefully showing each other how to pull the moves off.

Hux was surprisingly flexible. He did a backflip with more grace than Kylo, and could pull off numerous gymnastic moves without a second thought. He could also get into the dancer yoga position without much effort either. It didn’t help him learning some of Kylo’s techniques however because Kylo used the Force to maintain the strength and stamina to use them continuously.

“Do you need to use the Force to use the moves?” Hux asked, leaning on the wall as he fought to regain his breath.

“No.” Kylo replied, not feeling the effort as much as Hux. “The moves are there anyway, you’re trained usually from a young age to be able to fight. For protection. But the Force enhances your abilities and allows you to use them for longer. It’s why I wasn’t that good when we were training. I got tired, and the Force is like a way to balance yourself.”

Hux nodded, his face flushed a fetching shade of crimson. “I suppose having that would help when fighting around weapons such as those.” He nodded at Kylo’s Lightsaber, hung up on the wall with his robes as well.

“It does help.”

They only stopped sharing techniques when Hux couldn’t stand anymore. He lay flat on his back on the floor, arms spread wide, hair a mess and Kylo sat by his side. They had been practising evasive manoeuvres, and Kylo had been showing Hux how the Force allowed for one to use the momentum of an attack to defend themselves. He had had Hux attack him, and flipped backwards, startling Hux enough that he was not completely ready to defend himself. The General had already demonstrated that was something he could do during their first session, and Kylo was sure he could utilise the lessons from today as well, even without the Force.

“I must say we should be training our troops on how to withstand a Force user.” Hux grumbled, forcing himself to sit up and look at Kylo. It was a compliment to his stamina, Kylo realised, about as close to a compliment as he was ever going to get from Hux.

As he opened his mouth to reply the door to the training room opened and Mitaka entered. He did not look completely fazed by the sight of his General sitting red faced on the floor, and Kylo remembered suddenly that Hux and Mitaka usually trained together. He had probably seen Hux like this a few times, and had more than likely be lay out next to him, equally out of breath.

“General, the scouts have reported back.” Mitaka said, keeping his eyes carefully just above Hux.

“So soon?” Hux asked, his voice surprisingly steady. “Do they have the answers we seek?”

“I believe so General,” Mitaka replied, “However they would not specify to anyone but you, sir.”

“Very well Lieutenant, I shall report to the bridge shortly.” Hux nodded.

Mitaka saluted and turned to leave. Kylo watched from his seat on the floor as Hux dressed and smoothed his hair back as best he could. The sweat had washed most of the product from the orange locks, but it served a purpose as a replacement.

“Make sure you are prepared for a briefing Ren,” Hux stated, business-like again. “There shall most likely be a plan set out by the end of today.”

\--

 

Akiva was as hot as Hux remembered and his fear of the mission being a waste of time was replaced by the concern he might expire under the weight of his ghillie suit. The SU division were all dressed similarly, although they had only just donned their suits after a sweltering trek through the jungle itself.

The scouts had reported on the location of the stockpile. It was roughly five klicks away from the building they had been forced to rescue Kylo from, in an even more densely populated part of the jungle. Techie had been unable to recover plans for it from any database, but he had come up with an idea regardless. Trigger was armed with a dart gun with a tracker attached. He was going to shoot it onto a weapon as it was carried into the base, preferably a weapon that a Resistance member was wearing. This would allow Techie to build a map of the building.

The other area had already been scouted by the SU division and Hux had devised a plan. Three spots had been marked for them to hide and watch. One was high in the trees and gave a good aerial view of any ships coming or going to the area. The other was medium height, with the same good aerial views but for the main surrounding jungle. The third position was lower to the ground and riskier. It was close to the base, and gave them a unique look into what weapons were being stockpiled and who was coming and going. They would take shifts, with three of them on a day shift and three on a night. Techie was excluded from the shift rotations. He would be remaining in their camp and building a living blueprint.

“001, you get the tracker onto the target. You only have one shot so make it count and don’t be seen.” Hux ordered, keeping his voice low despite the fact they were at their base. They had brought spare ghillie suits and arranged them to cover the knotted trunks they had chosen, but voices could carry.

“General, I humbly request that you use our nicknames during this mission.” Trigger said immediately, “I understand you feel you have a reputation to uphold, but as a sniper you have already explained how important those names are to us. I recall you saying to Captain Phasma that our nicknames are for the job only.”

Hux nodded slowly, “I understand.”

“And there’s something else.” Trigger continued carefully.

Hux frowned. “What? Make it quick we need to begin.”

Glancing at his other Troopers, Trigger nodded. “We request that you be given a nickname as well. We understand General that you have a full name, but General is all we ever call you and it is like your name to us. I know we would feel more comfortable using your nickname.”

“You mean my Academy nickname?” Hux asked, “Very well. Until Ren and the other Troopers get here you may refer to me via that nickname. It is probably for the best, if we are overheard I don’t suppose General is the best way to hide my identity.”

“What was your nickname?” Techie asked.

“Sharpshooter.” Hux said stiffly. It was not a name he had heard in years, or indeed used. “So-called for my brains, tactics and abilities as a sniper team rolled into one.”

“Sharpshooter.” Techie repeated as if testing the name. He nodded. “Okay, we won’t forget.”

“Good. Now, Trigger go and take your shot. Scope, as you can imagine when we’re on rotation I want you high, and at night. Recoil you take the day. Barrel, Magazine, you take the lower height, decide on which will do morning and which night. Trigger and I will swap for the middle height.” Glancing around at them all to make sure they understood, Hux took a breath. “Let’s move.”

Trigger’s shot was easy, and right on the mark. Techie retreated to the camp when it was done, promising to have a live blueprint as soon as possible. Scope, Barrell and Trigger went with him. Hux, Recoil and Magazine took their positions, rifles handy and ghillie suits hiding them perfectly among the trees. It was quiet. There was a Resistance soldier guarding the door, but not much movement for the first day. Hux had programmed his portable commlink to call Kylo at a single touch. If he left it alone it kept him connected to the other Troopers but no one spoke to each other.

Lying flat on the branch of a tree sent you numb extremely quickly, Hux realised, and he suffered several bouts of pins and needles the first day. The second and third they were less, and the fourth he barely even noticed. Every day had the same routine.

A soldier would appear in the morning. He was barely armed, but he was also only there as a lookout. No one would come until midday, when other Resistance soldiers would appear. They were disguised as traders, fisherman, anything they could, and they would enter the base. Hours would pass and then they would leave. Before they came back the snipers would switch shift, with the night shift going on and the day shift going for a quick nap and to discuss what they had seen. During the night the soldiers would return with weapons. Each only carried one, and they carried it into the base and kept it there. There were around sixty soldiers in total.

“I’m going to follow them tomorrow,” Hux announced quietly, “When they leave in the afternoon I’m going to track them. Find out where they go and where the weapons are coming from.”

“Allow one of us to go with you, Sharpshooter.” Trigger requested.

“No. You’ll need to stay here. Techie is nearly done with blueprints and you’ll need to cover me. I’ll be fine.” Hux refused.

Trigger did not argue.

When Hux began to follow the soldiers, he realised the ghillie suit was weighing him down but he didn’t dare get rid of it. The soldiers were careful, making sure they covered their tracks, but they hadn’t been trained in doing that so well. Hux easily followed them back to a small encampment on the edge of the jungle. It could be easily defended, as a cliff lay behind it and the jungles would make it hard to attack as a group, but it was out in the open and easy to spot. A TIE fighter could take it out easily enough.

“Are you tracking me, Techie?” Hux murmured, keeping his voice as low as possible from where he lay on the ground, gun ready in case he needed it and perfectly hidden.

“ _Yes Sharpshooter.”_

“Mark this position on the map. It’s their camp.” Hux ordered.

There were even more soldiers at the camp, clearly some stayed behind as a defence for it. The reason for the position soon became clear. A small freighter ship approached the cliff just as the sun was fading and weapons were brought to the camp. The ship was unmarked and no one was visible from inside it to give Hux a clue who was supplying the Resistance, but he committed all he could about the ship to memory so it could be tracked later. Destroying the weapons reserves was the mission right now, tracking down the supplier could come later. Lying on the ground watching the soldiers talk about getting the weapons back to base, Hux considered the plan he had laid out to Kylo when the scout’s report had come back.

// _“When we have all the information we need, we will call you. Land in this spot.” Hux marked the holo-map with a circle, showing Kylo were the sniper unit would be landing before them. “Do not engage aerial support until we need it. Land them here, cloak them and wait.”_

_“The aerial attack will be useful to destroy the base,” Kylo said._

_“It will,” Hux agreed, “But only after they know we are there. We need to get the ground troops in first, make sure they don’t run. We’ll choose a time they’re all inside. If the blueprints tell us there’s an escape route, we’ll block it from the other side and kill them all. When the fighting has begun and they are cornered, the aerial support can come in. We do not need a lot. Two TIE fighters should be fine.”_

_Kylo and Phasma nodded. She had been given the authorisation to co-lead the mission, and she was happy, Hux noted._

_“We will give you the signal, and you are to trek to this point.” Hux gestured a wide circle around the building. “It’s not a far trek, so you shouldn’t be tired when you arrive, and neither should the Troopers. Wait for our command before engaging. There may be guards. We will see them. You may not. When I give the command go in hard and fast. This part is purely subjective to finding out how they are situated, but Captain, you will lead men to a camp if there is one and capture it. Ren, you go in, and I go in with you. We split and we cover all ground and we get it set to be destroyed. Then we get out and come back here. Is this clear enough?”_

_“Yes General.” Phasma said._

_Kylo merely nodded.//_

The soldiers were on the move again, breaking Hux from his memory, and he followed them, slowly, until they reached the base again. One of them was carrying something else this time, a Datapad tucked under his arm. Hux frowned. Why would he need a Datapad? Were they sending information about the weapons to the Resistance Base? Is that how they were communicating with their supplier? It gave them a unique chance to find out, as Hux was sure Techie would be able to get inside it.

“Have you heard about the rumours of Luke Skywalker?” A soldier asked as they walked. “There are rumours all over the base that General Organa has found a clue to his whereabouts.”

“They’re thinking of going to Jakku I heard. I don’t know why I doubt there’s anything on that dump.” Another laughed.

Snoke would want to know that, Hux was sure of it. He filed it away with a mental note to himself to mention it to the Supreme Leader himself when this was done. He hadn’t been expecting anyone to mention Skywalker here, as Snoke had said the missions were separate, but it was possible that all plans were shared amongst the Resistance. They were a smaller organisation, and the prospect of finding Skywalker would boost morale for them, Hux was sure.

Techie was with Recoil and Magazine when Hux got back. The night shift had begun, but no one had been there to switch out with Trigger. Hux had bigger things he needed doing before worrying about relieving the sniper. They could go for days at a time, and Trigger would be offended if he knew Hux doubted him. Which the General didn’t.

“Techie, I saw one of the soldiers carrying a Datapad. Do you think you can hack it?” Hux asked, pulling off his ghillie suit and revelling in the sudden rush of cool air as he did.

Techie blinked up at him. “Yes. Am I looking for anything in particular?”

“Copy it all,” Hux decided, “We can shift through it when we go back.”

Techie nodded. “The blueprints are done, Sharpshooter,” He murmured as Hux turned to walk away and stretch out the ache in his stiff muscles. He held out his Datapad to Hux, who took it eagerly.

The base was on two floors. The entrance led to a corridor with two sets of stairs at the end. One set led up to a large room. The other set led down to a series of rooms. Techie had labelled what he believed each one was from the amount of time the soldier they had tagged spent in them. It was basic design and would be easy to destroy.

“We’ll watch them until it gets to a week and a half. So that’s…six more days.” Hux did a quick calculation on his fingers. “Provided their routine stays the same, we’ll call for Ren and the Troops and get this over with.”

The three SU Troopers nodded, and Hux ordered them to get some sleep while they could, slipping into his ghillie suit and going to relieve Trigger from his post.

\--

“What’s taking so long?” Kylo asked no one in particular. He was pacing back and forth in the shuttle that was waiting above Akiva for Hux’s signal. Hux had refused to allow Kylo to come in his command shuttle. It was too well known, and would only blow the operation if they were seen. Kylo had been powerless to disagree, after Snoke had given complete control of the mission to Hux after an argument between them.

Phasma was waiting with him. “I believe this is part of being a sniper.” She said, “Although I do not know what the training involves.”

“Hux was right,” Kylo snapped, his voice sounding angrier due to the vocoder in his mask. “This shouldn’t have been a sniper mission. We could have had this done by now.”

There were around fifty Stormtroopers with them. Hux had left before them, and had sent only one message saying they would not need a large force. Since then there had been no communications from him and it was coming up to the tenth day. Kylo was getting agitated, and it was in no small part because of his distance from Hux. They had been close now for weeks, since Kylo’s arrival and Starkiller, and Kylo found himself uncomfortably antsy when Hux wasn’t around.

Phasma had noticed. He couldn’t see her face but he knew. He could sense it from her. The situation amused her, but because Hux was an old friend of hers she was also quietly watching Kylo to see what he would do. She seemed to misunderstand what their relationship was, but Kylo did not doubt she would come after him if he hurt Hux in some way.

Thinking about Hux and their strange relationship only made Kylo angrier and the speed of his pacing increased.

“Sir, I believe that you may want to calm down.” Phasma said, “General Hux is making sure the situation is ideal for us when we go in. If you go in with heightened emotions you may very well-.” She cut off when Kylo turned to her, menacing.

“If Hux would hurry up and give the order, then I wouldn’t have to wait.” He said, quietly but slowly, each word dripping with anger.

“Be that as it may Sir, when General Hux gives his first order we will still have to wait.” Phasma countered, “The first order is so we can land. The second is so we can move into position. And the third then gives us permission to move.”

Kylo went to reply but the beeping of Phasma’s commlink disrupted him. She answered it, but it was merely a message from Hux. A map came up, with a point circled on it and in Hux’s hand-writing a note that said “This is their camp. Encircle it and trap them”.

“He’s getting closer then,” Kylo breathed, “If he has a camp location.”

“Yes sir, I do believe we will be landing shortly.” Phasma agreed.

A second message came through a few seconds later. “Tell Ren to stand down. Or I’ll keep him waiting longer.”

Phasma held back a laugh while Ren kicked the nearest wall in anger.

The call to land was welcomed by all when Hux finally sent it. The Troopers were also getting restless, although their perfect training ensured they would not break rank even after waiting for a week and a half. Kylo was ready to destroy something just to let out the pressure building in him. He also wanted to see Hux. Even Phasma was bored.

Akiva was hot. It also gave Kylo a bigger place to pace while they waited for Hux’s second order. As Kylo paced, cursing his helmet for making him sweat profusely under it, Phasma approached.

“Another message from General Hux, sir.” She said, handing him a Datapad.

Hux had sent a full breakdown of the base and the camp Phasma was to attack, along with blueprints. It was impressive work to have been done in a week and a half, Kylo had to admit, but there was something troubling Hux. More soldiers had appeared the day the First Order had landed. At first he had counted sixty ferrying the weapons back and forth, and about twenty more at the camp. These numbers had been bolstered into the hundreds in one day, and Hux wasn’t sure they were all Resistance. He had ordered for a small group of Stormtroopers, and now he was concerned it may not be enough.

“He’s worried we can’t handle this?” Kylo asked incredulously.

“Not that we can’t handle it, sir.” Phasma countered, “But that the plan may not stretch as far as he wanted it to. The Resistance have suddenly changed tactic the day we arrive on the planet. It is cause for concern.”

Kylo hated to admit that both her and Hux were right. Why had more soldiers arrived? Were they expecting a bigger shipment? Or had someone tipped them off about the Order arriving? Hux might be in danger, and Kylo’s heart started hammering in his chest at the thought. He had to get to that base soon and make sure Hux was fine. They would destroy the weapons, they would strike a blow to the Resistance and Hux would return with him to the Finalizer able to put behind his misgivings about this mission.

The Datapad buzzed as another message from Hux came through.

_Move out. Now. We need to strike quickly. Something is wrong._

His heart could have been jumping out of his chest with the pace it was beating at that message, and Kylo quickly had it relayed to every Trooper with them. Phasma saluted before she led her Troopers off in an arch towards the Resistance Camp. Kylo unclipped his Lightsaber and held it ready as he led his own group of Stormtroopers on the short trek from the shuttles to the Base.

\--

The situation had changed and was slightly more pressing than it had been before, but when Kylo finally arrived things went even more downhill. Hux wasn’t even sure why he was surprised. Phasma had told him she had gotten into position soon after Kylo’s own confirmation, but Hux had wanted to analyse the situation a bit more first. The guard had been expanded and when the soldiers had come, only around twenty of them had disappeared inside. They had yet to come out. It didn’t feel right and Hux had to focus on his breathing so his nervousness didn’t affect his ability to shoot.

He had his six snipers positioned perfectly, spread out and covering all areas. They would provide constant cover for the Troopers, which was good. The soldiers patrolling outside the base numbered closer to one hundred now. Hux was low enough to the ground that he could provide cover while it was needed, and then slip to the ground and accompany Kylo inside.

“ _Shall we start taking them out, Sharpshooter?”_ Trigger’s voice came through the comm, querying Hux’s lack of attack.

“I wanted to observe what they were doing,” Hux replied quietly, “See if there’s a reason why there are so many of them. It seems weird they’re doing it today. And they don’t all seem to be Resistance either.”

“ _There was a message of a large shipment on that Datapad, scheduled for today.”_ Techie’s voice came both through the comm and from next to Hux. They were sharing a tree, as Techie was going to cover Hux’s spot when he went inside.

“It’s just a little bit troublesome that-.” Hux was cut off mid-sentence by a bunch of the Resistance soldiers going flying through the air, followed by the crackle of a Lightsaber igniting. “Are you kidding me?” Hux snapped, managing to keep his voice quiet so he didn’t give away his position. He felt a headache coming on from Kylo’s idiocy. “Ren! What are you doing?! You were supposed to wait for my order!”

_You sent a cryptic message and then no order or response came from you_ , Kylo responded directly into Hux’s head, _I thought something had happened._

“For the love of-…Troopers move in!” Hux ordered, “Take the camp, take down the soldiers here. Snipers, provide cover.”

Kylo was ahead of all the Troopers getting into the clearing and a group of soldiers made for him. He easily froze them with the Force while another one danced around him, trying to get a clear shot as Kylo lunged with his ‘saber to cut him down. Hux watched the exchange carefully, knowing the SU division were keeping their eyes on everyone else. Kylo was going to be overwhelmed soon, even with the Force the soldier he was attempting to cut down was proving troublesome, and Hux noticed the rogue soldier who had avoided the Force hold bearing down on him. Kylo managed to slice the troublesome soldier in half, but he didn’t turn in time to stop the secret soldier from levelling his blaster.

Hux didn’t think. He didn’t breath. He lined up his rifle, adjusted for the wind and fired. The soldier fell. Five shots later those in Kylo’s Force hold had gone limp too, all shot directly between the eyes.

“Thought you could use a hand,” Hux growled into the comm, “Since you can’t listen to orders.”

“ _Not as much as you do getting down from that tree.”_ Kylo chuckled and Hux had to take a calming breath to stop himself from saying something rude down the comm that was connected to every other soldier there.

“I’ve got you covered Ren, so get the doors open.”

Kylo nodded. The Stormtroopers had finally arrived to and were quickly engaging with the Resistance soldiers. The SU division were waiting and picking prime targets, allowing the Troopers to do most of the work. Kylo had positioned them all around the clearing, which spread the soldiers out and allowed him access to the doors. Glancing at Techie, Hux left his gun perched on the branch, shimmied free of his ghillie suit and dropped from the tree, landing in a roll and coming to his feet in time to shoot an approaching soldier in the face with his blaster. The Troopers made a path for him to join Kylo, and they disappeared inside the Base and shut the doors to drown out the noise of the fighting.

Kylo locked them. Away from everyone else, Hux tore the comm from his ear and put it in his pocket and rounded on Kylo.

“What are you doing?!” He demanded, knocking Kylo’s arm aside so he would lower his Lightsaber. “Do you not understand orders?”

“I said I was worried!” Kylo snapped back. “Nearly two weeks of waiting to move in, and then the order that comes is cryptic and you don’t respond when Phasma and I told you we were ready! I thought something had happened to you!”

“The Supreme Leader told you that this mission was going to be controlled by me, and I am a sniper Ren! We wait a long time and mark our men properly. You do not just do as you please even if you think I’m hurt. You think of the mission! Stars, you could have blown everything! _You could have gotten hurt trying to protect me when I was fine!_ ”

Leaving Kylo to digest his last words, Hux moved forward down the corridor, and stopped at the stairs. The inside was silent. Hux had seen twenty soldiers go in, but they seemed to have disappeared. Kylo would have mentioned if there had been soldiers, he would have been able to sense them through the Force. Kylo joined him at the stairs.

“You take the upstairs,” Hux said, “We believe some of the weapons are up there, and you can set the explosives to destroy them.”

“And downstairs?” Kylo asked.

“Where the soldiers would stay if they did stay here. There might be something important, or more weapons. We couldn’t decide just from the blueprints.” Hux admitted, “I’m going down there.”

“Okay.” Kylo nodded.

Hux disappeared into the darkness and Kylo ascended the stairs when he could no longer see Hux, only sense him. It didn’t take him long to find the weapon as there was only one room upstairs and it was full of weapon piles. Kylo reached out with the Force, but as he had when he had first entered found only himself and Hux in the building. He powered down the ‘saber and reattached it to his belt. On the other side he had small explosives they were going to use to destroy the building when he and Hux had looked around and gotten out.

Crossing over to one of the piles Kylo nudged it with his toe and frowned. Bending down he picked one up and his heart nearly stopped.

They were plastic.

Fake.

Hux had been right. This was a trap.

Dropping the explosives, Kylo made for the door to find Hux, to warn him but as he got to the door he stumbled. He didn’t hear the gunshot, but he felt the wound. Pain stabbed at his shoulder and his leg but when he probed his own body with the Force, Kylo couldn’t find any actual wounds. That was when it hit him. It was Hux’s pain he was feeling. Hux had been shot. There was no one in the building, so it must have been one of the soldiers from outside.

It all suddenly fell into place.

This had been an attempted blow at the First Order. The Resistance had planned this entire thing to lure Hux here, so they could kill him and send the Order into panic. A strangled cry from the lower bowels of the building brought Kylo back to reality. Hux was injured, and Kylo could hear him shouting “Ren!”.

“Hux!” Kylo shouted back. He wanted to shout more. He wanted to comfort Hux and tell him he would be okay, but getting down to Hux would be a better show of that.

As soon as he was on the stairs Kylo felt the Force shift around him and just managed to throw up a Force barrier before the building exploded. It had been so dark on the way in that neither Hux or Kylo had noticed the explosives set at intervals along the walls, and on both sets of staircases. The floor gave way beneath Kylo and he fell, landing with a roll and rising to a crouch. With a huge push of his powers, Kylo held the crumbling upper floors up above him, resting on the Force barrier to avoid being crushed. However the entire staircase down had collapsed, and Hux was underneath them. The lights and the noise of the explosions, and the power that was needed to hold the building up disorientated Kylo for a moment. Dust was settling around him and making it hard to see, coating the eye slits of his mask. Using one hand Kylo released the mark and ripped his helmet off. He attached the helmet to his belt as well, and when his mind had cleared Kylo threw himself at the stairs down to Hux.

There was even more dust downstairs, and Kylo fell down the staircase more than climbed down it as there was barely anything left. He missed Hux at first in his desperate search of the empty room, his vision swimming from the effort of holding the building up. Finally Kylo recognised him, lay spread-eagle on the floor. Hux had managed to get himself to the corner, which had saved him from being completely crushed bar for his right arm, which was underneath a large slab of rock blown from the staircases. Kylo reached out with the Force, the strain making his stomach role, but he found Hux was alive, unconscious but still breathing, with blood pooling under him from the bullet wounds.

With a cry, Kylo sent the rock crushing Hux’s arm flying across the room. The Force barrier holding up the rest of the roof weakened slightly, causing Kylo to grit his teeth and reinforced it even as he ran over to Hux and knelt down next to him. He was panicking, his vision blurry from tears and dust, and a banging headache forming against his skull. Hux’s right arm was mangled, the skin broken and the bones showing through from just above his elbow to his hand. His uniform was in tatters, and the amount of blood coming from the lacerations terrified Kylo and spurred him into action. He grabbed Hux, pulling him into a bridal carry with his injured arm hanging down away from Kylo’s chest. He didn’t want to touch it and make it worse.

Kylo didn’t remember getting out of the building, but he automatically withdrew the Force when he was clear with Hux, and allowed the building to collapse in on itself. The battle was over, and the Troopers were busy collecting their injured and dead.

“Sir! Lord Ren!” A voice cried.

Kylo ignored it, intent only on getting Hux to a shuttle and back to the Finalizer and into a bacta tank.

“Lord Ren!” The voice repeated.

He turned and found one of the SU division standing there, helmet off and pale. He saw Hux in Kylo’s arms and went extremely pale and whatever he had wanted to say died on his lips.

“I will find Captain Phasma and notify her that you have gone back to the Finalizer with Sha-…General Hux!” The sniper said immediately and moved so Kylo could get past.

Kylo had no words for him. He had no words for anyone and yet he was constantly murmuring to Hux. Telling him to hold on, telling him it would be fine, although it soon became clear he was saying it for himself more than Hux. Hux was unconscious, his life slipping away as blood splattered the jungle floor as Kylo ran. He didn’t have a lot of time to get Hux back to the Finalizer. He was glad they had used a shuttle with hyperdrive to come to Akiva, it would get them back to the Finalizer that much quicker. Hux was breathing, barely. Kylo had him crushed to his chest so he could feel his short, shallow breaths, only avoiding touching his broken arm. The trek through the jungle that had been short one way was extremely long now he was carrying Hux.

He could bleed out.

He could die.

Hux had had a bad feeling about this mission.

And he had been right.

The thoughts chased each other round Kylo’s head as he reached ahead with the Force and ripped the doors of the shuttle open. The skeleton crew left behind jumped in surprise and seemed to freeze when a bloodstained, helmetless Kylo Ren ran inside, carrying a limp, bloody General Hux.

“Get us out of here! Now! Call the Finalizer and get a med team assembled and a bacta tank ready!”

The orders came out before he was even aware he was saying them, but the crew jumped into action immediately with hardly any safety checks, the ramp barely closing before the engines were engaged and the shuttle lifted off. Hyperdrive came soon after, and Kylo sank to his knees to make sure Hux wasn’t jolted too much. The crew gathered around him, saying that Kylo need to put Hux down so they could start basic medical care. Kylo held him regardless, just allowing enough room for the crew to work. Nothing they could do would help. Hux needed a bacta tank if he was going to survive this.

The only thing that made Kylo release Hux to the crew was the need to put his helmet on, and hide his tears and distress from the rest of the crew. His hands were shaking as he clipped it back in place, unable to stop thinking that Hux’s instincts had indeed been right but they had all ignored them. And now the General may have to pay for it with his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much guys for all your comments and kudos I'm so glad you're all enjoying this so much, you guys are the best!!  
> I'm also sorry!


	8. Recoil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the explosion, the dust begins to settle on the damage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is just...fluff galore lmao
> 
> ~~I'd also like to take a chance to apologise for the hand and arm puns in the last chapter :L~~
> 
> seriously though there is a lot of fluff in this chapter ^o^ and protective Kylo is sort of there too. These two are idiots I swear.
> 
> I have also since gifted this work to the wonderful [Solohux](http://archiveofourown.org/users/solohux) who's prompt my original sniper!hux writing was based on and without her I wouldn't be into Kylux or even have thought of writing sniper!hux!! You guys seriously should go check out her writing if you haven't already she's one of my favourite Kylux fanfic writers!

 

 

_“Complications…his arm is…we have to…”_

_“You can’t…he needs that…please…”_

_“Sir I understand that but…bacta can’t heal…there’s been some damage…”_

_“More time in bacta must…please…””_

_“The bacta has done all it can…we just need to wait.”_

The snippets of conversation Hux picked up as he drifted in and out of consciousness should have concerned him, but his mind was too sluggish to really wrap around them. He was warm, and comfortable, and felt lighter than normal. Struggling to open his eyes, Hux lolled his head from one side to the other to try and figure out where he was through his blurry vision. He had an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth that was a little uncomfortable, but when Hux tried to lift his right arm to bring it down he found he couldn’t. He dragged it down his face with his left hand instead and blinked until his vision cleared.

He was in a private room of the Medbay of the Finalizer, Hux realised slowly, wearing a black medical tunic and soft black pants. A hand took hold of his left and pulled it back down. Blinking again, Hux turned his head to the side and saw Kylo sitting next to him. He looked awful, pale with large bags under his eyes, and his lips were trembling.

“…Hux.” He murmured, his voice breaking over his name.

Hux tried to reply but found he couldn’t.

“Don’t try and speak!” Kylo said quickly, “I’ll get a medic.”

Hux flexed his fingers, trying to reach for him but he felt too lethargic to do so. Kylo disappeared from his sight, and he could hear him quietly conversing with someone outside. A medic came back in first, but Kylo was close behind. He hovered on Hux’s left side as the medic checked Hux’s vitals and spoke to him.

“General Hux, can you follow my finger please?”

Hux focused as best he could and forced himself to follow the finger. It was difficult to coordinate his eyes and brain, and from the twinge in his hand Hux knew it was because of whatever drugs they were pumping into his system. His efforts seemed to please the medic however.

“Please do not try to move General,” He said, “You sustained some serious injuries during your last mission. When you are rested enough we can run through them with you.”

_No, tell me now,_ Hux tried to say, but he couldn’t find his words. His tongue felt swollen and his mouth dry, but Kylo knew what he wanted to say, reading the thought even as Hux attempted to say it.

“He would like to know now.”

The medic glanced at Kylo, and the expression passed between them concerned Hux even in his slow state.

“Forgive me General, but my concerns are that you are not equip for the information in your present state.” The medic said carefully, “It would not be in your best interests to run through your injuries now.”

“I don’t care,” Kylo said, translating Hux’s thoughts for him, “I want to know what happened.”

The medic shifted uncomfortably, and glanced at Kylo. Hux felt his eyes slipping closed involuntarily thanks to the drugs pumping through his system, and the medic almost seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Kylo waved him out of the room, and took a seat by Hux’s left side again. Hux tilted his head and he opened his mouth again.

_Water._

“You can’t drink. You can’t sit up.” Kylo replied.

_Get me a straw or something._

Kylo smiled softly, “I can’t. Hux, go back to sleep. When you wake up again we can talk about what happened to you.”

_I don’t want to sleep Kylo Ren. I want to know why you dropped a building on me._

The thought left Kylo looking stricken and Hux would have regretted the words if he had been conscious enough to know what he had thought. Kylo took his left hand and stroked it comfortingly, watching as Hux couldn’t help but slip into unconsciousness.

The second time he woke he was a lot more lucid. His oxygen mask had been replaced, and Kylo was still sitting by his bed, but this time he seemed to be asleep. Hux tried to reach up again with his right arm to remove the mask, but again the action felt impossible. Pulling it off with his left instead, Hux tried to look down to see if he could gauge his own injuries, but the action made him dizzy and he had to lie back into the pillows again.

He remembered being shot, twice. Once in the leg and then in the shoulder. He had glimpsed the shooter through the window, one of the Resistance soldiers, but a Stormtrooper had quickly pulled them to their feet and probably killed them. He had called for Kylo, and then a bright light, intense heat and darkness. Hux recalled finding a weapon as well and being annoyed and terrified to see that it was fake.            Minutes before he had been shot he knew that the entire situation had been a trap.

His movements to remove the oxygen mask had woken Kylo, who was sitting looking at him with the same trembling lips as the first time he had woken.

_Can I have water now?_ Hux thought.

Kylo stood. “I suppose. Let me go and get some.”

_When you get back you’re going to tell me what happened,_ Hux ordered, _I can take it._

“I’m sure.” Kylo murmured before slipping from the room.

Whatever had happened Hux hoped it wouldn’t keep him in Medbay for long, he was already getting sick of the plain durasteel room and the incessant beeping from the machine monitoring his vitals. Kylo came back after a few minutes with a glass of water and a straw. Hux glared at him, or assumed he had since he didn’t have complete control over his face muscles. It was embarrassing enough that he couldn’t drink without a straw, but Kylo had to put it into his mouth. The water was heavenly on his parched mouth, and Hux took as much as he could before his stomach began to protest.

“What…drugs am I…on?” He asked. His voice was scratchy and the act of talking was painful, but Kylo understood him anyway.

“They were pumping you full of bacta first to help speed along recovery.” He replied, “Before you woke up yesterday it was morphine for the pain, but they’ve changed to a weaker painkiller now. You’ll probably still feel a little out of it though.”

Hux nodded. “I do. Can you fetch the medic? I want to know what happened.”

“Actually,” Kylo began uncomfortably, “I’m going to tell you.”

“Why?” Hux queried, “Are you secretly a qualified doctor?”

“No, but…it’s…not good news Hux and they didn’t know how to break it to you.” Kylo rushed the words out and Hux felt his blood run cold.

“Spit it out, Ren.” He snapped as harshly as he could. His tongue was still tripping over his words, so it came out rather slurred. Kylo knew the harshness was supposed to be there, but he didn’t seem too perturbed.

“There was an explosion.” Kylo began, “Well first you were shot, in the leg and the shoulder, and the building had been rigged to explode. You were caught in the blast and you sustained some lasting injuries. Hux, try and move your right arm.”

“I did before,” Hux argued, “It won’t move.”

“Look at your right arm as you move it.” Kylo suggested softly.

Sighing at the fact that Kylo couldn’t just come out with the problem, Hux turned his head down to the right and moved his arm. His breath caught in his throat and Kylo was at his side instantly to try and put the oxygen mask back on. Hux pushed him away with his left arm, eyes still glued on the right. From the shoulder down the arm was normal, albeit wrapped in bandages. However, down from just above the elbow there was nothing but a stump. His entire forearm, his elbow joint and his hand were all gone.

“What…what the fuck…what the fuck happened?!” He demanded, voice shaking with anger or sadness Hux wasn’t sure. “Ren! What the fuck happened to me?!”

“Your arm was trapped during the explosion, crushed by the ceiling falling on you.” Kylo explained, taking Hux’s left hand in his own and bringing Hux’s attention back to him. It was hard to rip his eyes away from the mess that was his right arm, but Kylo’s eyes held his gaze easily. “I got you back to the Finalizer as quickly as I could and I got you into a bacta tank. It…healed the majority of your wounds but um…there were complications with the crush injury on your arm and they had to amputate. If they hadn’t it could have killed you because of infection.”

“So…what happens now? Do I get a replacement? Am I just going to have to live with a fucking stump? Why the fuck did we not realise this was a fucking trap?!” Hux yelled, his throat screaming against the volume of his voice. He struggled to sit up, to see the damage properly and he automatically tried utilise the muscles in his shoulders and stomach to do. It felt like something tore inside him and he cried out.

“There’s going to be a replacement, they’re flying in the best manufacturer of the prosthetic limbs to make a match for you.” Kylo confirmed, his thumb rubbing the back of Hux’s hand gently to try and keep him calm. “Please Hux you have to stay calm, you could injure yourself more.”

Hux tried to breath, to scream, to say anything but his mind was racing at the news. He was finding it hard to focus on Kylo properly, and his chest and right arm felt like they were on fire. He had definitely done some more damage by trying to sit up and he frantically opened and closed his mouth to tell Kylo. The frightened look in Kylo’s brown eyes told Hux he had gotten the message. Hux’s stomach rolled and he managed to turn his head to the side before he vomited. It was bile, burning and acidic on his tongue and Hux’s vision blurred again with the effort it took to be sick. His consciousness faded in and out, and he was vaguely aware of Kylo yelling his name, and for help. There were people bustling in and hands on him but Hux couldn’t focus on anything but the pain and the growing difficulty in keeping his eyes open.

\--

The third time Hux woke he didn’t try and pull his oxygen mask down with his right arm. He didn’t even try to remove it with his left hand. He was aching all over and the numb, slightly euphoric feeling in his body told him he was being pumped full of morphine again. Letting his head fall to the side he found Kylo sitting by his side again, keeping a vigil over him. He was sat straight-backed with a Datapad in his hands, and his eyes were both red-rimmed and underlined by black bags. Hux flexed his left hand, brushing his fingers against the hand that Kylo had resting on the bed.

“Hux!” He exclaimed immediately, dropping the Datapad onto the bed and leaning forward and taking Hux’s hand in his own. “No sudden movements this time okay? I will use the Force on you this time if you do.”

_I couldn’t even if I wanted to._ Hux thought, unable to talk with the mask over his nose and mouth. He didn’t need to, Kylo could hear him. _What happened?_

“An infection that the medics didn’t catch when they first brought you out of the bacta tank.” Kylo explained quietly, “Along with neurotmesis.”

_Neurotmesis…nerve damage?_ Hux guessed.

“The main nerve and the sheath in your upper arm were disrupted.” Kylo murmured, “It’s quite a serious injury and they’re not sure if you’re going to make a full recovery. While you were unconscious they operated on you, and tried to reattach the nerve and the sheath but, well it’s a waiting game.”

_Great._

“Hux, I know you may not want to hear it right now but, I have a full story of how this happened.” Kylo said quietly, rubbing his thumb across the back of Hux’s hand again.

Hux glanced at him. _Can you get them to come in here and reduce my morphine? I don’t know how much I can take in._

Kylo nodded and stood. He seemed reluctant to let go of Hux’s hand. As he left, Hux considered how strange it was that each time he had woken up Kylo had been without his helmet. A medic followed Kylo back in, looking nervous. Hux wanted nothing more than to fix him with a deathly glare, but he was afraid under the morphine it would have come out like a maniacal grin.

“Lord Ren advised me you wish to come off the morphine, General.” The medic said quietly.

Hux nodded as best he could.

“I must advise you General, that you have recently had rather major surgery and coming off the intense painkillers is not recommended.” The medic nearly stammered over the words and Hux’s eyes shifted past him to look at Kylo, who was standing with a worried expression behind him.

_Why is it the person giving me medical care seems less qualified than the man child who told me I’d lost my arm?_ He thought. Kylo’s lips twitched as he fought a smile, or maybe he was offended by Hux calling him a man child, the General couldn’t tell.

“He says he doesn’t care.” Kylo spoke, his voice low, “Reduce the morphine. We need to talk strategy.”

The medic turned to Kylo, seemingly less afraid of him. Hux had to stifle a yawn as he watched them.

“With all due respect, Lord Ren, the General is in not fit state to be discussing strategy.”

“And with all due respect, the General has the right to decide his own medical care.” Kylo replied coolly, “Now reduce the morphine or you will be made to.”

The two glared daggers with each other for a few more minutes until the medic approached Hux. He removed the drip from the needle taped to the back of Hux’s hand, and swapped the bag of morphine for weaker painkillers, before reattaching the drip again. Kylo stood menacingly over him as he did.

“I shall be back in twenty minutes to monitor your pain levels, General.” The medic announced when he was done, “If the pain has gotten too great we will return you to the morphine. Regardless of your choice, we are responsible for your recovery.”

With that said he left, leaving Kylo to take his seat by Hux’s side again and take up his left hand. Hux considered him. He had a pretty face. Pretty lips. Pretty eyes. Kylo was just pretty, although it was probably the morphine talking for him, Hux decided.

_Can I sit up? Does this bed do that?_ He asked.

Kylo nodded and waved his hand. The bed slowly raised, moving Hux gently into a semi-sitting position, and allowing him a better view of the room, and his ruined right arm. Hux wasn’t as upset or angry about it as he felt he should be now he was conscious again. It was again most likely due to the drugs in his system, but he had a sort of indifference to the injury now. When he got a replacement arm, it would be almost as good as new and it would be easier to put the injury behind him, Hux decided. Kylo was watching him, and Hux could feel him hanging on the edge of his mind, reading his thoughts.

“Do you want to take the mask off and speak?”

Hux nodded and reached up with his left hand to do so. Kylo was ready with another glass of water. Hux only took a few sips this time, enough to wet his mouth and tongue and enable him to speak without too many problems. His left hand fell back onto the bed, and Kylo slid their fingers together.

“You said you knew how…this started?” He said, his words slightly slurred because of the drugs.

Kylo smiled, although his expression soon became grim. “It was a trap, as you guessed. Before the transmission came through, the Senator’s ship had been attacked and commandeered by the Resistance. They found the same evidence that the Senator sent to us, in regards to Luke Skywalker. As the Supreme Leader decided we needed to strike the Resistance before they could gain this information, or utilise it, the Resistance believed they needed to do the same thing against us.” Kylo paused, trying to gauge Hux’s reaction.

Hux felt strangely calm, but Kylo didn’t seem too surprised. Morphine had that effect.

“They forced the Senator to send the information to us, including the information that the Resistance was stockpiling weapons on Akiva.” Kylo continued, “They knew it would be something we couldn’t ignore, although I don’t know how they could have known we would send you.”

“Have you…spoken to the Senator?” Hux inquired croakily.

Kylo nodded, his eyes taking a glint to them. “I’ve spoken to him a few times and he’s given me all the information I needed.”

“He told the Resistance about me.” Hux stated. He knew it was true, but he couldn’t think of why.

“He said as much. When Arkanis fell the records of the Academy were made public record for the New Republic, so the Resistance found out you used to be a sniper. They took a gamble. If you came to scout out the area they could try to assassinate you, if not they could at least take out the First Order soldiers that came to attack, and strike a blow regardless.” Kylo elaborated. “He said that this was unknown to the leaders of the Resistance. It was something decided amongst some of the men who took part in the capture of the Senator’s ship. They wanted more action.”

“Do we have…names?” Hux asked.

“No. The Senator didn’t get names. He mentioned someone, the star pilot of the Resistance, but apparently he didn’t have anything to do with the plan. They hired mercenaries, people against the First Order and just those who work for anyone with enough credits. It was meant to bulk up their numbers, make it seem real. And when the First Order attacked they’d find out who was there and take down as many as they could. Hence why they shot you. And blew up the building with us inside.”

“So they figured out the…Senator was dirty and…they decided to make up pay for it?” Hux surmised. “Is he dead?”

“No he’s alive. I thought you’d like the pleasure of killing him yourself.” Kylo grinned.

Hux managed a weak smile of his own. The relief from the morphine was fading and twinges of pain were coming back to him, making him regret his decision of lucidity over being pain free.

“Do you want me to call them back in?” Kylo asked quietly.

“No. I can deal with this.” Hux shook his head lightly. “What was the Supreme Leader’s reaction?”

“Anger,” Kylo replied simply, “Anger that this had been a trap. He’s not angry with you, Hux, just with the situation. That the Resistance nearly killed you. He’s ordered you to rest. Your SU division really stepped up, you know, they compiled a full report of their findings for the Supreme Leader. They explained there may be things you can add, since you saw more than they did, but the report seemed to please Leader Snoke.”

Hux smiled, stifling another yawn. “Have they said how long…I need to be in here?”

“They haven’t,” Kylo shrugged. He had yawned too at Hux’s yawn and Hux remembered that Kylo looked like he hadn’t been sleeping properly for days. “But it won’t be for a couple of days, not after the surgery.”

“Well I hope it’s soon,” Hux tried to huff, but the words came out slurred again. “I hate this room.”

“You should sleep more.” Kylo suggested, “If you rest, the medics will let you go quicker.”

Hux would have poked holes in that plan had he been up to his normal, sharp-witted self, but he was too tired to argue. He tightened his hold on Kylo’s hand.

“You need sleep too Ren. You’ve been helmetless around the entire Medbay for days.” He whispered, eyes already slipping closed at the thought of sleep.

He missed Kylo’s fond smile. “I’ll try.”

\--

Hux was crying when he woke up. At first he thought he was alone in the room, but upon wiping the tears from his eyes he realised Kylo was curled on a small fold up bed in the corner of the room. He was wearing his full robes and his helmet was lying on the bed next to him.

Hux smiled.

Since the morphine had worn off he had slowly been coming to terms with the fact that he was missing more than half his arm. He had been angry the first day and he had ripped the drip out of his hand with his struggling and nearly passed out from blood loss before the medics had been able to subdue him. Kylo hadn’t been there, but he’d been annoyed at Hux when he’d come back. The second day had been a little better, but Hux had been despondent. On the third day, the medics had told him the surgery was only slightly effective, and they were unsure how well Hux was going to be able to control his replacement arm. They were highly convinced that Hux wouldn’t be able to form a proper fist, or any sort of shape with his hand, meaning he wouldn’t be able to fire a rifle again. Hux had raged then, but Kylo had easily stopped him with the Force. They had talked at length, and Kylo had shared the bed with Hux that night, curled around him, and when Kylo was asleep Hux had cried into his chest and cursed whoever he could that this had happened.

It was now the fourth day, and the medics had promised Hux that as long as he passed their physical tests today, he could leave Medbay until the manufacturer of the bionic arms arrived. Hux had jumped at the chance, and prayed his body would play along. He hated being in the Medbay, the beeping of his vitals machine was slowly driving him insane.

Kylo stirred in the bed and sat up, his hair tousled and falling across his face. Hux looked at him. He had a lot more energy to move now, and the only thing that bothered him was the lack of balance from his missing arm. Shifting into a sitting position, Hux wiped his eyes with his left hand, as Kylo stared at him, still in the process of waking up.

“When you’re awake can you get a medic? I want out of here asap.” He said, his usually sneer back in place but nowhere near as cold as it normally was.

Kylo nodded and stumbled from the bed, grabbing his helmet and sliding it on before leaving. Hux swung his legs over the side of the bed with great care. The first time he had done that without being angry he had nearly pitched over the side. Kylo had caught him, gently, and hadn’t mentioned it, but Hux had been embarrassed and had snapped at him. Since then he had been practising his balance, but walking was still a little difficult. It didn’t help that he still felt like his arm was there sometimes, and it made him forget that he was asymmetrical now.

“General Hux, I have been informed you want to begin the physical?” A medical droid spoke as it wheeled smoothly inside, Kylo and another human medic behind it.

“Yes.”

“If I could ask you to climb off the bed and take five steps forward, turn and then walk back for me,” The droid began, speaking as he pulled the drip from Hux’s hand, leaving the needle taped in place for now.

Hux glanced at Kylo. They had spoken about the medical. Kylo had promised he wouldn’t interfere with the Force despite the fact that he knew Hux really wanted to leave. Hux’s pride would not let him pass these tests with help.

Hux shimmied to the edge of the bed and slipped forward until his bare feet met the cool floor. He braced himself on his left arm as he forced himself upright, wobbling a little under the scrutinising eye of the droid, the medic and Kylo. His heart rate had increased slightly from the exertion, and Hux took a few calming breaths until it had gone back down. Keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the wall in front of him Hux took five steps away from the bed, barely shaking, turned and took five steps back. The desire to sit back down was overwhelming but he remained standing. The droid nodded in approval.

“Now if you will demonstrate to me the movement you have of your right arm.” It requested.

He grimaced at that. He could tell Kylo was as well under his helmet. The neurotmesis had caused some problems for Hux in moving his arm, but he had been working on it in between his panics for the last three days. Taking a breath, Hux lifted his arm as much as he could horizontally from his body until it was straight. The strain had him biting his lip, and Kylo moved to his side but didn’t touch him. His body was tense, ready to catch Hux if he fell. Bringing his arm back down, Hux raised it forward, pointing towards the droid, and then backwards. He couldn’t raise it all the way at this angle.

“Can you lift your arm above your head?” The droid inquired.

“No.” Hux said flatly, “And I not trying for you, it hurts.”

“Understandable considering the neurotmesis,” The droid conceded, “How about your left arm? The bullet passed through the shoulder and left some muscle damage that was mostly healed by the bacta tank.”

“My left arm is fine,” Hux replied. He proved it by lifting his arm horizontally, forward and backward, over his head, stretching it and also flexing his hand. The droid didn’t say anything, and Hux could feel Kylo smirking beside him.

“You have had some breathing difficulties.” The droid continued, “How are your lungs?”

“Fine.”

“And your head? Any headaches, or nausea?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you keeping food and water down? And sleeping okay?”

“Yes, yes and yes.”

“The last check then is your vitals, and I will need to watch you do some more physical exercise.” The droid announced, “And then you should be good to leave, General Hux.”

“Good,” Hux griped.

The droid made him walk the length of the room and back, try to rotate his arm which had had Hux nearly crying in pain, and prove that the other injuries he had sustained weren’t bothering him anymore. It took forty-five minutes for the droid to pronounce him fit to leave. The human medic had Hux sign some paperwork, which he did perfectly with his left hand, and then left with the droid, telling Hux he would be back in a few minutes with medication for the General.

“Did you bring my clothes?” Hux inquired, turning to Kylo. He was a little tired, his shoulder and right arm were hurting from the movements, and he wanted nothing more than a bath. He also didn’t want to go walking the Finalizer in nothing but soft pants and a medical tunic.

“I don’t have access to your room,” Kylo replied, looking a little sheepish. They both knew he could have forced the door open, but Kylo had barely left his side in the time he had spent in Medbay. “And I didn’t expect them to actually sign you off straight away.”

“Great.” Hux huffed. The only shoes provided for him were slippers, not ideal for walking the Finalizer.

Kylo shifted, dropping his robe off and revealing a dark jumper underneath. He didn’t normally wear it, so Hux shouldn’t have felt surprised when he pulled it off and handed it to him. He also had ankle boots under the fold up bed, clearly having gotten some clothes ready for Hux to avoid some of the humiliation the General would feel walking from Medbay to his quarters. Hux had never seen the shoes before, and they were a little bit for him when he slipped his feet into them. The jumper was also too big, hanging over one shoulder and dangling lower than his hand. It made him look ridiculous, but it covered the loss of his right arm, and Hux was grateful for that. It smelt of Kylo. It was a comforting smell, Hux decided.

“Are you waiting for a reason?” He asked Kylo.

“You aren’t properly balanced right now,” Kylo responded, “I can at least keep your upright if you need me too. The medics also don’t want you walking alone, you’re still on painkillers. They have a portable drip for you to keep in until you’re in your quarters, I can hear them talking about it.”

“So you’re to chaperone me?” Hux was not impressed, but he didn’t press it further.

The boots he was wearing were untied, and Hux’s left hand clenched. They were too big for him to walk in untied, and without his right hand he wouldn’t be able to do so. Kylo knelt down, reading his thoughts, and deftly tied the laces. Hux slipped the toe of his right boot under Kylo’s chin and tilted his head up so they would have been looking eye to eye had Kylo been helmetless.

“Don’t speak about this to anyone.” Hux said coldly.

“About what?” Kylo shrugged, standing and putting his robe back on before the medic came back in.

Hux only half listened about the medication dosages and times as the medic spoke, more focused on getting out of Medbay. Kylo was listening, he could tell, he’d get him to catch him up on it later. Rolling up Hux’s sleeve, the medic attached a small bag of liquid painkiller to the needle in Hux’s hand, and then attached it to Hux’s arm.

“This will last for a couple of hours. If you’re going for a bath or shower General, we’d suggest doing so when you can pull the needle out. Once you take the tape off the needle will come out cleanly, and there’s a bacta patch included in your medical supplies to apply and stop the bleeding.” The medic explained. He handed a small bag of drugs to Hux, and when he glanced inside he was sure there were enough drugs to send half the crew of the Finalizer into a comatose state. Not that he was complaining, nerve damage hurt.   
“If there are any problems, or reactions to the medication, any severe pains in your arm or anywhere else you’ve been injured, come back immediately. As soon as the manufacturer of the bionic arms comes aboard you will be notified General, and he shall measure and build you an arm straight away and then we shall attach it.”

“Is there anything else?” Hux snapped, “I’d like to leave.”

“No General.” The medic confirmed, saluting.

Hux nodded in approval and stalked from the room as best he could, Kylo by his side. He hadn’t been sure what he was expecting when he left the Medbay, but the Finalizer was running just as it always had been. Officers and Stormtroopers patrolled the halls, all saluting to Hux as he walked past and Hux had to force himself to keep his right arm still as it twitched to wave them off. Kylo took to walking on Hux’s right side, close to his arm so Hux couldn’t move it, and the General appreciated it, although he didn’t say anything. Kylo knew. He could read it in Hux’s thoughts.

“How long have I been in Medbay?” He asked as they rounded the corner to Hux’s rooms.

“You were in the bacta tank for a week,” Kylo replied, “And then around two days for you to regain consciousness. So, nearly two weeks, give or take.”

“Great,” Hux ran his hand through his hair, “And does the Supreme Leader want to talk to me?”

“He will.” Kylo nodded, “But he’s already confirmed to me he’s going to wait to talk to you until the arm has been fitted. He wants a proper report from you, and he believes he’ll get that when you’ve been properly healed.”

They had reached Hux’s rooms as Kylo spoke, and Hux opened the door with a press of left hand. Kylo followed him inside without waiting for Hux to ask him inside, but Hux didn’t argue either. He went straight for the ‘fresher and struggled to get his left arm out of the sleeve and get the jumper over his head.

“Do you want some help?” Kylo inquired quietly, leaning against the doorframe casually as Hux struggled to get the jumper over his head.

“No, I can do this.” Hux said through gritted teeth. “I can do-.”

Kylo lunged forward as Hux overbalanced ripping at the bottom of the jumper, and caught him before he fell, propping him back up against the sink.

“Hux, you’re not going to be able to do a lot of things straight with only one hand, and barely half an arm.” Kylo exclaimed, “Just accept my help until you get the bionic arm.”

Hux pulled himself out of Kylo’s grip easily, seething in anger, and Kylo stayed silent and waited for the answer. He already knew Hux would agree, he could see it, but Hux kept his mouth shut tight as he considered his options. He wanted both a shower and a bath, but he didn’t particularly want Kylo undressing him. Sizing up what he was wearing, Kylo would have to help him with the jumper and the tunic, but Hux could get his pants off himself.

“Fine.” He hissed, “Fine. You can help me.”

As Kylo took the hem of the jumper in his hand, Hux grabbed his wrist.

“Just the jumper and tunic,” He warned, “Nothing more. I can do the rest myself.”

Kylo nodded. Hux stayed still as Kylo drew the jumper over his head, carefully extracting Hux’s arms from the sleeves. The wool got caught on the painkillers attached to Hux’s hand, making him hiss in pain.

“Sorry. Should we take that out first?”

“No, get the jumper off me.” Hux demanded. The jumper was stuck over his face as Kylo extracted the drip from the wool and carefully pulled the sleeve down and off, and it took a lot of willpower for Kylo not to laugh at him. With Hux’s arm free, it was easy to pull the jumper over his head, ruffling Hux’s hair. He was red faced when Kylo freed him, from embarrassment, pain of exertion Kylo wasn’t sure, but it was a fetching colour on his cheeks.

“You should take the medication and needle off first,” He murmured, “Before we take the tunic off, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Do you have the bacta patch?” Hux inquired, “To put on when I pull the needle out.”

“It’s in the supplies, I’ll grab it.”

Hux waited, standing in the bathroom and glaring at himself in the mirror. He couldn’t tie his shoelaces, couldn’t take off his own clothes, he could barely balance himself. His right arm was his dominant arm, although Hux had taught himself to be ambidextrous years before. He would automatically reach out for things with his right arm, and the ghost feeling that his forearm and hand were still there was going to make it a hard habit to break. When his bionic arm came and was fitted it wouldn’t matter, but now it was embarrassing. Hux hated it. Hated having to rely on Kylo.

“Here,”

Kylo came back into the room, holding a small bacta patch. Hux held out his left hand. Without a word Kylo removed the painkiller bag from Hux’s arm, then unwound the tape holding the needle in place. Hux’s arm was tense, but with a small sweep of the Force, Kylo knew it wasn’t from pain but from anger, at the uselessness he was feeling. As the medic had said, when the tape was removed the needle slid out without effort. Kylo pressed the bacta patch to the blood that welled up on Hux’s skin and held it there until it stuck. The tunic came off easier then, leaving Hux half-naked and shivering slightly in the ‘fresher.

“Do you want me to go?” Kylo murmured.

“Yes.”

“I mean do you want me to leave you alone or just…leave the room?” Kylo clarified.

“Oh,” Hux paused, considering his answer, “Didn’t you say the medics didn’t want me to be alone?”

“I did,” Kylo confirmed, “But I don’t want to be here if you don’t want me to be. I’d rather avoid causing you more stress.”

“How nice of you.” Hux snapped, “Look I don’t know Ren, I just want to shower and then go onto the bridge and actually do some work. Get back to normal life…as much as I can.”

Nodding, Kylo took Hux’s tunic and the jumper and left the ‘fresher. He left the door ajar, and Hux slammed it closed before turning on the shower. It felt good, having the warm water cascade down over him, soothing the stress from his shoulders and back, and washing the accumulated dirt and uncleanliness built up from over a week in Medbay. They had kept him clean, had washed him after taking him out of the bacta tank, but apart from that they wouldn’t have been able to shower him. And Hux was glad, he already carried the shame of having to have Kylo tie his shoes and undress him, he didn’t want the knowledge that someone had undressed him, bathed him and then redressed him.

Reaching down, Hux grabbed his shampoo and flicked it open using his thumb. Examining the bottle, Hux knew this was going to be hard, but he would not ask Kylo for help with this. He squeezed the liquid directly onto his hair, and took time rubbing it in, relishing the feeling of the suds under his fingers. It hurt, the movement jarring against the point the needle had been sitting for so long, but it was a good pain. As he washed his hair, Hux concentrated on moving his right arm, forwards, backwards and out to the side. It still hurt, still caused a rushed intake of breath and a shot of pain down his spine, but it was easier than it had been in the Medbay. Washing his body came next, easy enough with one hand, although balance was sometimes a problem and Hux nearly slipped a few times.

Closing his eyes tightly, Hux tilted his head back under the water and lowered his left hand. The water washed the suds away, but Hux stayed stood under it even when he knew he was completely clean. It was a comfortable feeling. He didn’t notice Kylo coming back into the room, leaving clothes and a towel for him, but the cold he let in made Hux jump, and he turned the shower off. The room was empty when he turned around, but the jumper he had previously been wearing was there, along with underwear and his normal, regulation jodhpurs.

Wrapping a towel around him was hard, so Hux gave up and dried himself straight away. The jumper has been changed, the First Order insignia attached to the sleeve. It had been sewn on whilst Hux was showering, with a practised hand, but the wool was the same and it still smelt of Kylo. Had he sewn on the insignia for Hux? The thought made Hux involuntarily smile.

When the ‘fresher door opened again, Kylo turned to see Hux coming out wearing only the black underwear and jumper. Without a tunic underneath it, the jumper came down just over the edge of the boxers, slipped off his right shoulder and covered his left hand completely. Hux’s hair was pushed back off his face, slicked back thanks to how wet it was but with a few strands free and falling in front of his eyes. He was flushed from the heat of the shower. His eyes flicked from where Kylo’s helmet lay on the table to Kylo’s face.

“Did you do this?” He asked, nodding at the insignia on the sleeve.

“Yeah,” Kylo said, “I was looking at your First Order regulation tunic and well, the sleeves are tight, so it would be hard to hide your missing arm.” He paused for a moment, and Hux looked down to his right arm. Since the jumper was long enough to cover his left hand, it could easily be assumed it was hiding his right as well. It was strangely sweet, and Hux flushed a little darker at the thought.   
“I also had an idea for your coat.”

“My coat?” Hux questioned.

“Yes.” Kylo nodded, picking up the greatcoat from the couch. “An idea of how it can look like you’ve got an arm.”

Hux walked forward, ignoring how Kylo’s eyes flicked down to the expanse of his thighs and calves on show since he had forgone pants. The right arm of his greatcoat had a leather glove attached to the end of it, and when Hux reached out and squeezed it, it felt as if Kylo had stuffed it with something, shaping the sleeve to make it look as if there were an arm inside.

“This is ridiculous.”

Kylo did look a little sheepish as Hux slipped his arms into the great coat. His right arm nestled into soft cotton from whatever Kylo had used to stuff the sleeve, and he had to admit it did give the desired effect. There was only one problem.

“I don’t have an elbow joint anymore,” Hux said quietly, “So I can’t bend the arm.”

“It was just an idea.” Kylo replied just as softly, “I also have a sling for you, to make it look as if the arm is simply injured and not missing.”

He picked the “sling” up from the couch as well, and Hux eyed it dubiously. It was a normal medical sling, but it had something inside it that would act as Hux’s lower arm and hand. When Kylo wrapped the sling around him and fixed Hux’s right arm into it, he realised what Kylo had used and he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was Kylo’s Lightsaber, held tightly in the fabric and wrapped in a shirt to bulk it out slightly.

“Aren’t you going to need this to destroy the ship if something upsets you?” Hux quipped.

“I’ve got other methods.”

Hux stayed still as Kylo came to stand in front of him and adjust the saber and the sling to make it comfortable for him. Unaware that he had looked down to follow what Kylo was doing, Hux glanced up enough to meet Kylo’s eyes. His hands stopped, one gently resting on Hux’s right arm where flesh became a rounded stump. Hux’s heart beat fast against his chest as he saw a myriad of emotions in Kylo’s dark eyes. Joy that Hux was awake and moving around, anger at the Senator for the trap, self-directed anger that he had not been able to sense it and save Hux quicker, and something else. Hux couldn’t identify it, but it was warm and tender and meant only for Hux to see. It was too much, and Hux had to pull his eyes away as he felt his own become watery with tears.

“Hux,” Kylo whispered, “It’s okay.”

“The hell it is,” Hux responded, his voice loud in the quiet of his room. There were no other sounds then their breathing when neither spoke, and their breathing soon synchronised perfectly. “This is so far from okay.”

Kylo’s other hand came up and he gently turned Hux’s eyes back to him. The anger wasn’t gone and the unidentified emotion was stronger now than before. Hux couldn’t stop his eyes filling with tears the longer he stared. Kylo stayed quiet, cupping his cheek and letting Hux bare his emotions. There would be repercussions to this, he knew, Hux’s pride would be wounded and he’d shout and snap at Kylo later but for now, Hux’s emotions were on the edge of breaking. He had cried, he had raged, he had mourned his missing arm, but nothing had made it as real as their small moment in the ‘fresher, when Hux had realised he couldn’t do things as easily as before. That he would have to get used to living with one hand until the bionic arm came.

His lips quivered. Kylo let one finger ghost across them. Hux gasped a sob and Kylo hugged him. They stood silently, Hux crying into Kylo’s shoulder, left hand curled in Kylo’s robe and right arm held gently in Kylo’s grasp.

The Lightsaber pressed uncomfortably between them.

Neither of them counted how long they stood there. Hux’s tears dried up, but they didn’t move. It was only when Hux shivered and remembered he wasn’t properly dressed that he pushed Kylo back. He still looked tired.

“Thank you.” He whispered.

Kylo looked confused.

“For saving me. For sitting with me. For this.” Hux gestured at his greatcoat, lying on the back of the couch and the sling with added Lightsaber hanging around his neck. “This is probably ridiculous to you.”

“No,” Kylo disagreed, “I know why you want to seem powerful and unbreakable to your men. It’s natural. I do the same with my helmet.”

They shifted uncomfortably for a moment. Hux clenched his left hand a little painfully into a fist.

“I want to go to the bridge.”

“I know.”

“I’m afraid.”

“I know.”

“You’re tired.”

This caused Kylo to pause, for a moment only. “I know.”

“What time is it?”

“Late. The nightshift are on. Being in Medbay messed up your sleeping pattern, you should sleep until morning.” Kylo answered truthfully, “I can leave you to sleep if you want.”

“No.”

Hux answered too quickly and they both blushed.

“You…were right when you said I won’t be able to do a lot of things straight away.” Hux continued, feeling as if he needed to explain his sudden answer, “And I…don’t want to risk anyone else seeing me in that state. You’ve seen me through the whole healing process so-.”

Kylo kissed him, swallowing his words quickly and gently. Hux jumped in surprise, but didn’t pull away. It wasn’t like on Starkiller. There was no confusion, no tenseness, no dislike in either of them. And there was a difference to the kiss itself. On Starkiller, the kiss had been soft but at the same time harsh, just Kylo putting his lips on Hux’s and seeing what would happen. Now, Kylo had moulded his lips to Hux’s, and was holding him too. Hux was kissing back. It was gentle, and tender, and a little wet because neither of them really knew what they were doing, but it was perfect. Here, when things were broken and falling apart around them, they had each other. Kylo knew what it was like to be completely cut off from something, to cut off a limb that had sustained life for so long. Hux knew that. He knew of Kylo’s struggles between the Light and the Dark. He didn’t understand it, but they were there. And it was so different to this reality, but also so similar.

When they pulled apart, Kylo rested his forehead against Hux’s and smiled weakly.

“I’m sorry, it was sudden again.”

Hux chased his lips again for another short, sweet kiss. “It was fine.”

“You’re tired.” Kylo muttered, “And still on pain medication.”

“Only bacta,” Hux argued softly, “And you’re tired too.”

Nothing else needed to be said, only mumbled curses when Kylo tried to undo the sling he had attached to Hux, and Hux tripped over trying to help. His bed was bigger than the one in Medbay, but Kylo still curled around him, one arm under Hux’s head and the other wrapped around his waist, holding him close. Hux laced their fingers together. It didn’t take long for them to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is only more fluff to come


	9. Reload

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo and Hux continue with not understanding their relationship but liking it. Hux realises during this the plot to kill him ran deeper than just a corrupt Senator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm gonna apologise now for the amount of hand and arm puns part way through this chapter :L i couldn't resist.
> 
> also please check the tags as new ones have been added.  
> there is implied drug abuse/the effects of drug abuse in this chapter 
> 
> and fluff

 

 

Hux woke groggily, feeling too warm and too smothered. When he blinked himself awake properly he realised the feelings were coming from Kylo’s arms wrapped around him, keeping him pressed against him with Hux’s back to Kylo’s front. Hux was lying on his right hand side, and pain was shooting through him, but Kylo was too heavy for him to slip out of his arms.

“Ren!” He snapped, wriggling and attempting to dig his left elbow into Kylo’s sternum. “Ren! Wake up!”

Kylo mumbled something and cuddled closer to Hux. The pain nearly doubled and Hux shouted before he could stop himself. The noise disturbed Kylo, and had him attempting to sit up in panic. With his arms tangled around Hux this proved impossible, and sent them both sprawling, Hux ending up under Kylo, tears in his eyes from the pain.

“Are you okay?” Kylo demanded, his voice slurred with sleep.

“Please get off me,” Hux requested, keeping his voice as calm as he could. Kylo climbed off Hux and scooted to the end of the mattress, allowing Hux to sit up and attempt to stretch out the pins and needles in his right arm, despite the pain.

“You need to take some of your medication.” Kylo stated, “I’ll get it for you.”

“Okay.” Hux nodded. Kylo got out of bed and left Hux’s bedroom to find the medication he had been given yesterday. Hux followed him, slower, and he went into the ‘fresher and got himself a glass of water. Kylo handed over some pills, and Hux swallowed them whole, using a large gulp of water to wash them down.

“Did I hurt you?” Kylo inquired.

Hux looked up at him before answering. Kylo’s dark hair was a mess, all over the place from his quick movements and Hux was torn between liking it and hating it. The dark rings under Kylo’s eyes were fading, and he was chewing his lip nervously.

“No, I was in pain before you woke up. I don’t think I should lie on my right side.” Hux finally replied, “I want to go on the bridge today.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait until the manufacturer comes?” Kylo inquired quietly, watching Hux move around the room and gather his uniform.

Hux shook his head. “There’s work to be done, I know it. And I want to show myself.”

Kylo didn’t reply, and Hux didn’t need the Force to tell he wasn’t convinced, but knew nothing would convince Hux otherwise. He followed Hux back into the ‘fresher, hovering as Hux attempted to shimmy out of the jumper he was wearing so he could have a quick shower and wash off the grogginess he was still feeling from being smothered by Kylo in his sleep. He managed to traverse the shirt successfully himself this time without overbalancing, and Kylo’s soft smile gave Hux all the praise he needed.

“You’re not watching me get dressed.” He stated firmly, handing the jumper to Kylo. “Get out.”

“Okay.”

Frowning at the fact that Kylo was seeming considerably compliant, Hux stepped into the shower and allowed the water to wash over him, and then turned on the drying component as well, tilting his head up to the warm air rushing around him, drying him instantly. It made his hair poufy and hard to tame, so Hux rarely used the option, but he wanted to be dressed and on the bridge as quickly as possible. Forgoing wrapping the towel around his waist, Hux dried quickly again. Kylo had left him a uniform while he had been showering, and Hux slipped into it as best he could. Fastening the belt was impossible, no matter how hard he tried, so the tunic hung off his frame, shapeless and making him look square. He gripped it tightly in his left hand as he left the ‘fresher and found Ren holding a towel of his own.

“Do you…mind if I use the shower too?” He asked quietly.

“No.” Hux shrugged, wincing at the pain that shot through him at the simple movement, “I need to finish getting ready anyway.”

Kylo nodded uncertainly and moved past him into the bathroom. Hux went into the bedroom. He had a mirror in there, and some hair gel, and set about the hard task of brushing down and regulating his hair. He took his time, constantly reminding himself it was going to be hard since he only had the one hand. Hux cursed a few times when he tried to bring his right arm in to help, the phantom limb feeling occasionally making him forget.

After ten minutes of trying and failing to gel his hair successfully with one hand, Hux wanted to punch the mirror. He settled for throwing the gel bottle across the room, where it stopped mid-air before it hit the wall. Hux whirled and found Kylo standing in the doorway, his own hair wild from being dried by the sonic shower, shirtless and watching Hux with a look that bordered on amused.

“Would you like some help?” Kylo asked.

“What do you know about taming hair?” Hux snapped, “Have you looked in a mirror recently?”

“Hux,” Kylo said his name firmly and didn’t need to say more. Hux knew he was being stupid, holding onto pride that was only going to make things more difficult for him in the future.

“I know.” He sighed, frustrated, “It’s fine. Here.” He handed the comb to Kylo, and he placed the gel back onto the table.

Hux had done most of the work properly himself, and Kylo had to just smooth down the wild bits of copper hair poking up from the bits Hux couldn’t reach. They were both silent as he worked, Kylo not sure what he could say and Hux burning with embarrassment. The end result would do, Hux decided, when Kylo stepped back and let him admire it in the mirror. It wasn’t as neat as normal, but then Hux was going to be going on the bridge wearing a sling, so it would become obvious that he had one injured arm and could be excused for a less than tidy appearance.

“I thought over some modifications to the sling,” Kylo muttered, disappearing for a moment before coming back in with the sling, his Lightsaber still nestled inside it. “It’s going to fasten under your arm, take the pressure off your neck, and I’m going to tie it tightly. So, if you get the phantom arm feeling you won’t be able to move.”

As he was talking Hux through it, Kylo fastened the sling in place. It hurt, and Hux grunted as Kylo brought his right arm close to his body. It fit snugly under his left arm, and looking in the mirror Hux had to admit it did look like he had merely injured his arm and was not without one.  Kylo left the room to get dressed, and Hux went to get out of his greatcoat, and found it still had the stupid fake arm Kylo had made inside it. Hux pulled the leather glove off, and yanked the stuffing out, before attempting to manoeuvre it onto his shoulders. It wasn’t working properly, and Hux jumped when Kylo gently put it on his shoulders.

“Do you want more painkillers?” He asked.

“Yes.” Hux nodded, “What was the dose they said?”

“The painkillers you took this morning are strong, they might make you feel a little woozy, giddy and possibly manic. You aren’t to take any more of them except the prescribed dose. They’ve given other painkillers too, for you to take alongside them.” Kylo explained, examining the medicine bag and withdrawing a small blister pack. He popped out two of the painkillers and handed them to Hux, who swallowed them dry.

“I’m ready.” Hux stated, “Let’s go.”

“Before we go, Hux.” Kylo murmured, gently cupping Hux’s cheek. “Let’s assume that you start to feel faint, ill, or manic on the bridge.”

“Because of the painkillers, naturally,” Hux nodded.

“I’m going to keep an eye on you. It’ll feel like…a small weight on your mind, but it won’t be intrusive. It’s just so I can monitor you, I won’t use the Force on you unless you ask me too, okay?” Kylo kept his eyes locked on Hux’s as he spoke and Hux nodded.

“I know why you’ll be doing it, and I’ll allow it for now. When I get back to full health you will cease to be inside my mind.”

“Alright. Let’s go then.”

Kylo slid his helmet on and waited for Hux to walk out first. It felt strange to Hux to walk the halls of the Finalizer as if nothing had changed. Stormtroopers and officers walked past him, heading for their shifts, and every single one of them stopped and saluted to Hux. It didn’t stop when Hux walked out onto the bridge. Mitaka spotted him first and stood immediately, followed by the other officers on the bridge. They scrambled from their consoles and lined the main walkway across the bridge to the main viewport, where Hux usually stood and began his shift. As Hux walked past them they saluted, standing ramrod straight and many of them failing to hide smiles or watery eyes. It was touching, Hux found himself thinking, that his crew was so attached to him. Their loyalty meant more to him than he had ever thought.

“Yes, yes I know it’s very exciting that I’m back,” He addressed them as he reached the viewport with Kylo and turned to face them, “But that doesn’t mean we don’t have work to do. Lieutenant Mitaka, I need a full report of all that I’ve missed whilst being in Medbay. The rest of you, back to work.”

Mitaka approached Hux and Kylo cautiously, a datapad clutched in his hands. Hux felt slightly lightheaded, a side effect of the painkillers, and he felt Kylo’s presence in his mind, soothing him. It wasn’t particularly unwelcome attention, and Hux chose to ignore it as Mitaka launched into a full report. Several missions had been planned and executed while Hux had been unconscious, mostly orders from Snoke for Stormtroopers and the Knights of Ren, and they had all been successful. Starkiller had reported that the problems had all been fixed and the weapon would soon be ready to test on a system. The Resistance had disappeared ever since the First Order had commandeered Ro-Kiintor, and questioned him on what the Resistance had done. There had been no chances for retribution for what they had done to Hux, and Mitaka admitted quietly that many people in the First Order had been “champing at the bit” to destroy the Resistance completely and make them suffer for attempting to kill their General, and injuring him in any way. His gaze was drawn down to the sling on Hux’s right arm and Hux tensed painfully. Kylo cleared his throat. Mitaka looked at him and hurried on with his report.

There was a lot of paperwork that Hux needed to sort through, things that Mitaka and others with high ranks had not been able to sign off.

“I tried to lend you a hand as much as possible General.” Mitaka said, chest puffed out proudly as he spoke.

Hux stared at him. He had the urge to laugh, and it only got stronger the more things Mitaka said.

“Your efforts are appreciated, Lieutenant.” He managed to choke out. It sounded a lot angrier than he had intended because he was forcing back a laugh, but Mitaka seemed to take it in stride. It was probably known on the bridge that Hux was on a lot of painkillers, so any slip ups in his normal behaviour would be put down to that. “So, you have had no luck tracking the Resistance, but how goes our effort to attain more allies?”

“It’s going well, General.” Mitaka nodded, glad to talk of something positive. “We’ve had three more planets in the Outer Rim sign the First Order protection treaty and come into alliance with us. They are supplying many things to us, men for the Stormtrooper programme and most importantly minerals and metals to make weapons. We’ve also commandeered a large ship building port, which will allow us to improve the size of the navy. We cannot begin production until you authorise the plans and which ships to build, General, but the men are ready to work.”

“That’s extremely handy isn’t it?” Hux responded before he could stop himself.

Kylo made a strange noise through his vocoder, turned and left the bridge swiftly. Hux and Mitaka watched him go, both confused, and Hux mentally berating himself for his choice of words.

_Where are you going?_ He asked, knowing full well Kylo would hear him.

_I can’t stay if you’re going to make hand puns,_ came the reply, _I’ll start laughing._

_I’m so glad my predicament is funny to you Ren._

_Oh, come on Hux, you made a poor choice of words._ Kylo was laughing already, Hux could already tell even from their simple, mental communication. He had removed himself from the bridge so the officers wouldn’t see him laughing. Hux bristled in annoyance.

_And here I thought you liked a hands-on approach._

Kylo didn’t reply, and Hux had a feeling he was probably laughing again somewhere in secret. He turned his attention back to Mitaka, who was scrolling through the datapad and had been dutifully continuing his report as Hux had been distracted. He felt lightheaded again, and Mitaka frowned.

“Are you okay, General?” He asked quietly.

“I’m perfectly fine.” Hux replied, “Please continue.”

“Well that’s the majority of what happened while you were gone. The SU division also requested to see you when you were cleared from Medbay, to give you the report they gave to the Supreme Leader.” Mitaka informed him, “Forgive me…General but may I speak freely?”

Hux should have said no, but he was still struggling to contain the laughter threatening to burst out of him at the copious amount of hand jokes that had been made unknowingly in the last five minutes. “Of course.”

“It may be best for you to deal with the paperwork in your office today.” Mitaka suggested. His cheeks were red, he was embarrassed and a little nervous to voice his opinion. “The crew is glad you made an appearance but it may be a little easier on you to deal with the paperwork and rest for now. We’ve got a good grip on things here.”

Hux’s shoulders shook with the effort it took not to laugh at Mitaka’s words, and Mitaka’s worried expression only worsened.

“I thank you for your kind words, Lieutenant.” Hux ground out, “But this is my shift on the bridge and I will fulfil it to the best of my ability. There will be time for paperwork later.”

“Of course sir. Many of the reports are on this datapad, you can browse them as you attend the bridge.” Mitaka nodded, handed the datapad over, saluted and went back to his console.

Heavy footsteps told Hux that Kylo had returned, and he edged further toward the viewport to give them some more semblance of privacy while everyone worked on their consoles. Hux knew that his crew were shooting glances at him, simultaneously worried and happy about his presence.

“I can’t help it, Ren.” Hux said before Kylo could speak, “My mind is automatically going back to think about, and the words just come out.”

“I know.” Kylo replied evenly, “And I shouldn’t laugh but I just…it was hard not to. I could feel your amusement too.”

“Well, it only got worse when Lieutenant Mitaka decided to tell me he had a good grip on things on the bridge.” Hux murmured.

Kylo snorted, the noise amplified by his vocoder and drew the attention of the officers closest to them. Hux kept his face as neutral as possible, but it still felt like he was on the verge of breaking down and manically laughing.

“I shouldn’t be laughing.” Hux continued, “I’m not even remotely amused by it but…I suppose the painkillers are working.”

“The side effects did include giddiness.” Kylo reminded him, “But I’d try and hold back on the hand references. No one knows. You don’t want to draw attention.”

“I’m sure the gossips on the ship would love to know I was holding your lightsaber close to my bosom.” Hux spoke again before he could stop himself and he knew Kylo was staring at him incredulously. “What?” He asked, “I know people on the ship gossip.”

“You really shouldn’t be out here on those drugs.” Kylo shook his head, “It’s like you can’t engage your brain before speaking. Go to your office.”

“No.” Hux refused, “It’s my shift on the bridge and I will finish it.”

Kylo didn’t argue. He stood by Hux’s side as he struggled to flick through the datapad reports with one hand. Eventually the datapad began to float in front of him and Hux was able to flick through and sign them easily. No one commented, although it was clear for everyone to see that Kylo was using the Force to help Hux. The General’s mind began to wander and he soon found himself thinking forlornly whether he would have to replace the scissors on board with left handed scissors since the medics didn’t think he’d be able to make a proper fist with his bionic arm.

“How did you even get to scissors from reading a report on the statistical accidents in Snow Speeders?” Kylo asked quietly, glancing at the report to get an idea of what it was about.

“Huh?”

Hux looked up, blinking, Kylo’s voice having brought him out of his reverie but not having processed the words.

“You’re thinking about scissors.” Kylo repeated, “Why?”

“Oh. I don’t know. It’s hard to concentrate.” Hux admitted, “I think I may have taken too many painkillers this morning.”

“You need them. You wouldn’t work any better in pain.” Kylo argued softly.

Hux glanced down at his right arm, moving it slightly in the sling and feeling the lightsaber slide against his chest. “It’d make it easier to think.”

They fell silent again and Hux focused on the reports again. He tried to focus on them more, but his mind wandered more and more the harder he tried. It was frustrating, and he began getting the urge to throw the datapad at the viewport and crack the screen completely. He resisted, barely, and resolved not to sign any of the reports until he could read them properly and make an informed decision. For all he knew, Mitaka could have slipped in a permission slip for him to get some sort of ghastly pet and keep it aboard the Finalizer.

It carried on like that for some time. Hux would occasionally be called over to a console to advise on something, and he would do, his words perfectly chosen, painstakingly so. Kylo kept his presence in Hux’s mind the entire time, and felt how drained Hux was when he was three hours into the shift. The main painkillers had worn off and his arm was aching and twinging and just felt painful. It was making him snappy, and it was clear to the crew on the bridge that they had to be careful what they said. As Kylo was about to suggest they went back to Hux’s quarters and got some more painkillers, Phasma made an appearance on the bridge. She had visited Hux a few times in Medbay, worried about him, and had told Kylo that if he suffered any lasting injuries because Kylo and Snoke hadn’t heeded his instincts, Phasma would have a problem with it. She would be one of the ones who would tell the sling was fake, Kylo knew it, but she wouldn’t make a scene on the bridge.

Stopping in front of Hux she saluted. Hux nodded.

“I have a special request for you, General.” She said. “The SU division are being shipped out to a special training ceremony in one of the First Order academies. They have requested to see you before they go.”

“Alright.” Hux agreed without any prompting, confirming to Kylo how badly he wanted to get off the bridge, “It’s as good a time as any to do a hand off.”

The strangled noise that came through Kylo’s vocoder made many of the officers jump, and Hux to turn and look at him as though there was something wrong with him. Phasma seemed unperturbed, but Kylo could sense she was amused by his antics. He followed Hux from the bridge, as he walked side by side with Phasma, talking to her about the Stormtrooper programme, and if any had been lost during their mission on Akiva.

“And your own injuries, General?” Phasma asked as they walked down a deserted corridor. “Not too severe I hope.”

“Depends on your view of me I suppose.” Hux replied, “They amputated my right arm, just above the elbow. We’re waiting for someone to come to the Finalizer to make a replacement.”

There was an intake of breath from Phasma, the only physical reaction to her anger and shock. They would meet later and drink and she would see the damage and she would berate Kylo and offer her assistance in any way. She would comfort Hux. They had been friends for years, longer than Kylo had known Hux, and they were close. Kylo watched them talk back and forth as they made their way down towards the Hangar Bay, where the SU division were waiting.

Trigger was the first to spot them, and he immediately gestured for the division to line up and salute.

“General!” He exclaimed when Hux waved for them to relax, “May I say it is good to see you up and about.”

“You too, SU-001.” Hux replied, “I’m glad none of you were badly injured. Captain Phasma tells me you requested my presence.”

“Yes.” Trigger nodded, “Although we’d prefer to talk alone.”

Hux glanced at Phasma and Kylo. Phasma left without a problem, stating she would be back later to properly brief the SU division before they left. Kylo didn’t want to leave, but a pointed stare from Hux told him it was okay. He would feel if anything was wrong with Hux anyway, Kylo told himself, so it was okay to leave him.

“Do you want to sit down?” Trigger asked quietly.

“No.” Hux said firmly, “What is it you wanted to speak about?”

“We wanted to offer our apologies.” Trigger replied, “For your injuries. When Lord Ren carried you out of that collapsed building I thought you were dead.”

Hux’s brow twitched slightly. “You saw it?”

Trigger nodded, “I was right there when he carried you out. Covered in dust and blood, looking absolutely manic, like an animal more than a man. You were clutched in his arms and he barely heard me talking to him. He didn’t even speak, just tore off through the jungle to get you back here.”

Hux couldn’t find any words. Trigger waited for a few minutes before continuing.

“The crew of the shuttle said they’ve never seen him so emotional. No helmet, tears running down his face, snarling that he wasn’t letting you go. He was in complete shock. We came to Medbay after returning, since Techie had a small injury, and Barrel got shot. He was there, he hadn’t moved the medics said, since you were admitted. And he didn’t the entire time you were in the bacta. Even ignored the orders to go and see the Supreme Leader until the medics could confirm you were going to be okay. He trashed one of the examination rooms when he found out you were losing your arm.”

“Why?” Hux demanded, “He wasn’t losing anything.”

“You’d have thought he was.” Trigger chuckled drily as he spoke, “He commanded them to save your arm, that you needed it, that you had to be whole because so many of your favourite activities required two hands. I thought at one point they were going to try and sedate him, he was absolutely manic.”

“I’ll have to have words with him about that.” Hux whispered, not half as angry as he felt he should be. Kylo had been over emotional and destroyed part of Medbay when he had gotten the news about Hux’s arm. He cared about him. More than he should, more than it was ever evident he did. His actions since Hux had woken up should have spoken volumes, but Hux hadn’t really registered it until Trigger’s words. Kylo cared for him, truly. The kiss had been something, meant something. And it meant something to Hux that Kylo cared.

“We’ve got to leave soon General, but we didn’t want to go before saying goodbye,” Trigger said, breaking Hux’s train of thought. “Thank you, for all your hard work and your skills. It was a pleasure to serve with you, Sharpshooter.”

“Don’t speak to me like I’m retired.” Hux ordered, “I’m not done yet. Not by a long shot. When I get my replacement arm I will be back up and running. Just wait and see.”

“I look forward to working with you again, Sharpshooter.” Trigger said as way of an apology. “I’ll have Techie send our report to your personal datapad.

“Me too. And thank you. Good luck with your mission.” Hux nodded and saluted. The SU division saluted too, and then Hux turned and walked off. He wanted to go back to his office, do some paperwork and then go to sleep. As soon as he left the Hangar Bay, Kylo was by his side, walking step for step. Hux glanced at him, turning over Trigger’s words in his head as they walked in silence. Kylo had panicked and gone crazy when Hux had been injured. It was weird to think of Kylo caring him.

“You’re tired.” Kylo muttered quietly. “We should go back to-.”

“I’m going back to my office.” Hux interupted, “I’m going to do some paperwork and then go to sleep.”

“Take some more painkillers too.” Kylo ordered, “I know you’re in a lot of pain.”

“It’s only natural.” Hux went to shrug, finding he could only do it with one hand because of the sling. He brought his hand up and curled it around the lightsaber pressed to his chest. Kylo didn’t miss the gesture, and he looked away. They walked in silence again, no one stopping them or calling to them, and Hux was dragging his feet by the time they finally got to his office. There was a stack of datapads in there, brought in by Mitaka, each with at least thirty reports on. The expletive that ran through Hux’s head at the sight made Kylo chuckle.

“You don’t have to do it now.” He said, “You’re injured, the crew understand that.”

“I need to do something. I’ll go stir crazy if I don’t.” Hux argued, “Just let me be. You don’t need to stay with me in here, nothing is going to happen.”

“I’m not taking that chance.” Kylo responded gruffly. “I won’t bother you.”

“Your presence bothers me.”

Kylo didn’t reply, reaching up to take off his helmet. Hux watched him. He tried to imagine Kylo’s face, contorted by fear and panic into a snarl, his lips quivering as people tried to take Hux off him. He had seen Kylo angry, teasing, laughing, even simply being before, but never scared or panicky. Hux almost found himself wishing he could remember it, could pull the face into his mind, could make Kylo see it again and see his reaction.

“Why are you thinking about that?” Kylo asked, his voice tight, “Who told you?”

“SU-001 did.” Hux replied honestly, “He saw you when you first carried me out. Blood stained. Panicking. Snarling at the crew of the shuttle that got you back to the Finalizer. Destroying part of the Medbay when you found out that I was going to lose my arm. How typical.”

“You like the idea.” Kylo whispered, stepping closer to Hux. “You like the idea that I’m worried about you.”

“I hate the idea that you feel the need to baby me.” Hux snapped, moving to walk away. Kylo grabbed his left arm, carefully not jolting him too hard, but with a strong enough grip to stop Hux from moving. There were mere inches between them, and their eyes met naturally.   
“Would you show me that face?” Hux asked, bringing his left hand up to slowly trace Kylo’s jaw. “The panic? The fear? The desperation? I bet you looked glorious.”

“It wasn’t anything like that.” Kylo muttered angrily, tilting his head into Hux’s touch, “Glorious or amusing. It was raw. Too raw. I’ve never seen you covered in so much blood before. It was a little too…real.”

“What was real?”

“The fact that I could lose you.” Kylo whispered. “That they knew enough about your training to draw you to Akiva with the intent of killing you.”

Hux’s eyes went wide and he frowned at the same time. Kylo’s words stirred something in the back of his mind and suddenly it all fell into place. “This was planned long before they brought the Senator into it.” He stated firmly, pulling back from Kylo to pace in front of his desk as his mind raced, the puzzle pieces slotting together easily.

“What?” Kylo was confused, and missing Hux’s touch.

“Your first trip to Akiva, when they captured you with Force Resistant material…that’s when they found out I was a sniper. It wouldn’t have mattered if they had found out about the Senator, there would have been some plan for me to come to Akiva. Or another planet, another mission.” Hux began speaking fast, getting it all out and putting it together as he spoke. “Whoever it was that got you originally, they weren’t trained they were just trying to get easy money. They called for reinforcements before we escaped, and we were attacked again near the shuttle. So they had planned this, to get intel on the First Order.”

“But how could they have known that you would come?” Kylo interupted, stepping into Hux’s line of walking to stop him from pacing.

“They didn’t. They just knew it was going to be someone important to the First Order. The Supreme Leader’s apprentice disappears and someone has to save him, it’s not going to be your regular Stormtrooper that goes.” Hux scoffed, “So when I went and they saw me and they realised I was a sniper, they planned something else. Something more sophisticated, and then Ro-Kiintor was captured and it provided them with the perfect opportunity. Snoke jumped at the knowledge of Skywalker, and sent us into the trap. They’d been planning this for months!”

Silence fell when Hux finished speaking, shattered only by him knocking the pile of datapads over angrily and watching them clatter to the floor. Their protective coverings stopped them from smashing, something Hux knew he would have been thankful for if he hadn’t been so annoyed.

“I knew I should have gone with my instincts! I should have argued more, I should have investigated and done my job!” He shouted, rounding on Kylo when he tried to step closer, “And you shouldn’t have been so reckless!” He yelled, “Stomping in because you thought something had happened to me! If you had used the bloody ‘amazing power that is the Force’ you could have read that it was a trap and I wouldn’t be stuck with this fucking stump!”

“I was worried about you!” Kylo snapped, “You sent a cryptic message and then didn’t respond to any calls, what was I supposed to think?”

“You could have used your bloody brain?! You do have one don’t you? I know it can be questioned sometimes but stars, Ren, if you had engaged it once before actually acting this whole thing could have bloody been avoided!” Hux cried, throwing his hand up in frustration. “They had the one up on us this entire time! And we don’t have any information to use against them except some useless facts about Skywalker!”

“They won’t get another chance like this!” Kylo growled.

Hux laughed and scrapped his teeth against his lower lip in annoyance, and to display how incredulous he found that announcement. “What are you going to do Ren, meditate and find their base and then destroy it singlehandedly? Please.”

“Don’t underestimate me!” Kylo barked. Hux’s furniture became to tremble as the Force filled the room, Kylo’s anger causing it to become unstable and affect the room. Hux glanced at his desk, shaking and nearly lifting off the ground as Kylo seethed. He wished dearly he could fold his arms. The lightsaber felt wrong against his chest.  
“They threatened your life directly. They tried to kill you. And they’ve maimed you. Permanently. Any Resistance soldiers I meet will not live to tell the tale.”

“They will live if you are ordered to spare them.” Hux said coldly, “Not following orders got us into this mess.”

Hux’s desk went flying, smashing against the wall as Kylo let his anger out. It caught Hux’s left shoulder as it went, sending him careening to the floor onto his right side with the force of the blow. The strangled shout of pain from the General seem to break Kylo out of his angered attitude, and he immediately dropped to the floor.

“Hux! Are you okay?!”

“Don’t touch me!” Hux spat, managing to force himself up onto his knees using his core body strength. His eyes were watering from the immense pain of the fall, and the smarting in his left shoulder. It felt as if something in his right shoulder had been dislodged, and Hux had to grit his teeth to stop himself from dissolving into tears then and there on the floor of his office.

“Hux, let me-.”

“I said don’t touch me!” He yelled, “Just…get a medic and leave me be.”

Kylo’s hand hovered inches from Hux’s shoulder before he nodded and stood. He jammed his helmet back on and swept from the room. Hux let himself cry when the door slid closed. How had that evolved into an argument so fast? He had become defensive, ridiculously so, because he knew he was developing feelings for Kylo. And he knew now thanks to Trigger that Kylo felt the same. Or felt something. There was definitely something. Hux had been slowly falling for Kylo, falling for something – friendship or love or a gentle animosity Hux wasn’t sure – and the Resistance had been able to plot something that had nearly killed him. It wasn’t Kylo’s fault. It was just an unfortunate timing.

Hux cried. The sobs hurt, but he couldn’t stop them when they started. Why had this happened? Why had this entire situation happened? Was it some sort of cosmic karma? He had done some pretty terrible things in his life and now the universe was paying him back with lost limbs and gained feelings. He didn’t remember the medics coming for him. Didn’t remember them explaining to Hux that extremely emotional responses to changes in his perceived norm were a side effect of the amount of drugs he had been on recently. He didn’t remember them accompanying him to Medbay so they could examine him. Or collapsing onto his bed and sleeping the entire rest of the day away when they had finished, with a new lot of painkillers and strict instructions not to jolt or move his arm again until the bionic arm creator arrived.

He slept with Kylo’s lightsaber pressed into him in the sling.

\--

It took a week for the man to arrive on the Finalizer to craft Hux’s replacement arm. In that week Hux and Kylo didn’t see each other. They didn’t meet on the bridge, they didn’t spend time together and they didn’t spend the night together. Hux worked fervently, in his office and on the bridge, forgetting his pain medication in the mornings, and then taking a slightly higher dose in the evening so he’d collapse and sleep the night away. It was restless sleep, and Hux didn’t feel rested at all, waking up hyper-sensitive and strung out and emotionally drained from nights spent dreaming of Kylo.

Kylo followed a similar pattern. He spent some nights standing outside Hux’s room, tempted to force his way inside and get angry because Hux wasn’t looking after himself. He wanted to wrap Hux in his arms and tell him it was okay and make it better. There was no way for him to make this better really, he couldn’t bring Hux’s arm back, his function back, but he could do something to alleviate the edge Hux was on.

He never went in. 

He didn’t sleep either. Restless nights spent meditating filled the week, as Kylo tried to calm his racing mind. He trained and he practised and he broke things in his room and he raged and he cried and his emotions went from high to low so quickly it made him dizzy.

Between Hux and Kylo the atmosphere on the Finalizer was extremely emotionally charged, and uncomfortable. When the man finally arrived to make Hux’s arm, Hux was glad for the distraction. Glad to throw the useless lightsaber back at Kylo like he hadn’t been sleeping with it every night. Like he hadn’t figured out how to tie the sling himself and nestle the ‘saber there whenever he did.

Hux was summoned to Medbay from his office. The man was there when arrived, talking animatedly to the medics, and he turned when the door opened.

“Ah, General Hux!” He exclaimed, bowing, “My name is Guido, and I shall have the pleasure of working with you.”

“I wouldn’t call it a pleasure.” Hux replied with what he hoped was an icy glare. He had just taken some pain medication, probably too much than was needed, and his head was all over the place.

Guido frowned. “It is always an honour and a pleasure to work on my creations.”

“I’d prefer the real thing.” Hux snapped, “Can we just get on with it?”

The medics nodded, and showed Guido and Hux into a room. As the door was sliding closed a hand stopped it. Hux turned to see Kylo entering. Neither said a word, and Hux felt his shoulders shaking as the tension was released from them. He had been dreading this day, more than he was willing to admit. When the arm was fitted, it would be a true test of how bad the nerve damage had been.

Guido frowned at the intrusion. “Lord Kylo Ren? It’s an unexpected pleasure.”

Kylo said nothing, focused on Hux. Guido looked at him. Hux felt uncomfortable. He was sweating and he felt woozy.

“Your work may have to wait,” Kylo suddenly blurted out, darting forward and grabbing Hux as he tried to step forward and stumbled, “Please get a medic.”

“I’m fine.” Hux mumbled.

“I should have listened to you when you said this was so far from okay.” Kylo replied, “You aren’t dealing with this well.”

“No.” Hux disagreed, gripping the front of Kylo’s tunic tightly and bringing their faces closer together. “I can deal with this. With my arm. It’s okay. I’m getting a new one. I won’t let it beat me. It’s you. It’s you I can’t deal with Ren.”

“…Hux I don’t-.”

“We were enemies, we hated each other, we didn’t get along and then…then you realised I wasn’t boring and you wanted to get closer and we did. And somewhere along the line I fell for it.” Hux rambled, using Kylo to hold himself up as a fresh wave of nausea hit. “Fell for something. I don’t know. Why did you kiss me?!”

“I wanted to,” Kylo breathed, “To kiss you. When you…you nearly died and I told you I just…I can’t lose you General.”

“But why?” Hux demanded, “Why not?!”

“I don’t know.” Kylo murmured, “I don’t know. I don’t know what to call it.”

“I hate you!” Hux mumbled, “I do. Passionately. Don’t leave me again!”

Kylo’s chest vibrated with quiet laughter and he pulled Hux closer, “I won’t.”

The medic chose that moment to enter, but neither Kylo or Hux moved. Hux didn’t know if he could without falling over, and Kylo knew he could simply wipe his mind later with what he had seen.

“He’s been taking his medication when and as he wants to,” The Knight explained before the medic could speak, “He just needs some time to come down before Guido gets to work.”

“Of course, Lord Ren, please, come to the General’s private room and he can rest there.” The medic nodded, moving aside and gesturing for Kylo to leave first. Hux grumbled about having to walk, but he did with cautious steps, clinging hard to Kylo as they did. The entire Medbay would need their minds wiped, Kylo mused, as would Guido. That could wait until Hux was in bed and resting.

“Don’t leave me.” The General ordered again as Kylo went to leave. Stopping, Kylo moved back over to the bed and sat down on it. Hux curled up, and the sling shifted as he did. Kylo glimpsed his lightsaber through the fabric and his heart skipped a beat. He had half been expecting Hux to throw the weapon away, or return it to him, not keep using it in the sling after their fight.

“How were you even working when you were taking your medication wrong?” He asked, reaching out to stroke he thumb over Hux’s hand.

“I was taking it at night. I didn’t listen when they gave me the dosage. I don’t know. My head isn’t really in the right place.” Hux shrugged and turned over so he was facing away from Kylo. “I couldn’t sleep without you there.”

“Me either.” Kylo admitted, “Me either, Hux.”

“We’re pathetic.” Hux laughed, “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“But it has.” Kylo said firmly, “And we have to talk about it. Or do something about it.”

“Let’s just…go with it.” Hux suggested, “Just go with it. Whatever it is.”

“Mm,” Kylo hummed in agreement, sliding to lie down next to Hux and wrap him in his arms, “Whatever it is.”

It took Hux less than twenty minutes to fall asleep, his body occasionally spasming as the drugs worked their way out of his system. Kylo disentangled himself after Hux was deeply asleep enough and went about wiping the minds of everyone in the Medbay, including Guido. It was always funny watching someone lose their memories and then blink and re-introduce themselves. Guido gushed to Kylo about working on someone as esteemed as General Hux, and asked if he would be there soon to begin taking measurements. Kylo had shrugged, left the man with the medics and gone back to Hux.

An hour later the General awoke, groggy and confused and snappy, but he smiled when he first saw Kylo and murmured how he had been waking up in Medbay with Kylo by his side too much recently. Kylo told him Guido was here, Hux got up, straightened his hair and went to meet him.

“General Hux!” Guido said, again, to Hux and Kylo’s amusement, because Hux knew what Kylo had done, of course he did, he knew Kylo would protect him both physically and his reputation. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Are you ready to begin?”

“Yes.” Hux nodded. Guido had him sit and took measurements of his left arm. Hux did as he was asked, flexing and moving his fingers and holding his arm in strange positions for Guido to measure. He had already been given measurements, taken by the medics when Hux had a physical aboard the Finalizer every year, but he had wanted to make sure they were still correct. Luckily they were, which meant the arm he had made while on the way to the Finalizer was a perfect fit and was ready to be surgically attached.

Hux looked nervous. It rolled off him and infected Kylo as well. When no one was looking he squeezed Hux’s hand.

“Are you ready for the surgery now then, General?” Guido asked, looking positively ecstatic to have Hux under his scalpel.

“I suppose.” Hux nodded, “Now is a good a time as any.”

He glanced at Kylo.

_I’ll still be here,_ Kylo thought, _I’m not going anywhere._

The relief in Hux’s eyes made Kylo’s heart flutter again. He had to change from his General’s uniform into a Medbay gown, and the gown was then cut open on the right arm to expose it. Hux lay on a bed as they fussed around him. He had schooled his expression to look calm, but his fear was still known to Kylo.

“Lord Ren, we will need you to vacate the room.” One medic said, “We need to make sure it’s a clinical environment.”

Kylo nodded and stalked from the room. He knew how it seemed to the medics, that he had barely left Hux’s side since coming back from Akiva and that he was there again but Kylo didn’t care. Hux might, but he hadn’t said anything. Snoke was getting impatient as well, he wanted Hux’s report. He had told Kylo that Hux needed to report while the things he had seen were still fresh in his mind, but Kylo had been the one to argue that Snoke should speak to Hux when he was mentally capable, which would most likely be when he had his replacement arm. Snoke had relented.

He went over what Hux had said before falling asleep. There was something between them. Neither of them knew what it was, but it had started when Hux had first come back from a mission with a sniper rifle on his shoulder. Kylo’s interests had been piqued, and Hux had humoured him. And it had gone downhill from there. Only Kylo didn’t really see it as anything bad, but a development that would make them both stronger. When they got past this, and Hux was back to full working form, they would definitely be stronger. He had never used the Force to the extent of keeping a building from falling down on top of him before, and the only reason he had been able to do so was because he had needed to get to Hux. Even Snoke had mentioned that Kylo was a lot more balanced with the Force than he had been before. Being with Hux allowed him to draw deeper from the dark side of the Force, because if he returned to the light side they couldn’t be together. The dark side offered him the chance to protect Hux, and give him the galaxy. The light side would give them nothing.

Kylo was still lost in his thoughts when they wheeled Hux out of the operating room and back into his own private room. He was unconscious, under anaesthetic, and the bionic arm was in place. The synthetic skin placed over it was matched perfectly to Hux’s skin tone, and it looked as if the arm had never been missing. Kylo’s lightsaber, removed from the sling during the surgery, was lying on Hux’s left side. His fingers were lightly curled around it.

“The surgery went well,” Guido said as he came into the room, “General Hux should be waking up soon and we shall test the capabilities of the arm. The medics informed me there was some nerve damage.”

Kylo nodded.

“A shame really, but he should be able to use the arm for the most basic things in any case.” Guido sighed and examined his handiwork, “This may be the best one I’ve made.”

Kylo didn’t speak, just watched him. It must have been unnerving, because eventually the man made excuses to leave. Approaching the bed when he was gone, Kylo reached out a hand to touch the bionic arm and then stopped himself. He didn’t want to do it without Hux awake, because he didn’t know how Hux was going to react when he saw it. It was really a perfect match, but there were always tells with a prosthetic limb. Luckily for Hux, the join from arm to bionic arm was perfect.

Hux stirred as Kylo stared at him, and cracked one eye open. He wasn’t in as much pain as the last time he had woken up in Medbay and there was a comfortable weight pulling at his right arm. Looking down he saw the bionic arm and he immediately tried to sit up.

“Careful Hux,” Kylo warned, “You’ve just been anaesthetised, you need to take it easy.”

“Just help me sit up.” Hux ordered.

Kylo was tempted to refuse, but he knew if he did Hux would hurt himself trying to, so he moved to his left side and helped Hux sit up. Hux didn’t stop at sitting up, but swung his feet off the edge of the bed and rested them against the cool floor. The Medbay gown settled around him, still torn off at the right shoulder to allow full access to his arm.

“Can you move it?” Kylo asked, breaking the silence with the question they both wanted an answer to.

Hux looked up. He was nervous again. Slowly, he raised his arm. It hurt, especially since the extra weight didn’t help with the nerve damage, but the bionic arm wasn’t heavy or cumbersome, it weighed about the same as his flesh and blood arm. Kylo moved around the bed again so he could watch, holding his breath as Hux bent and unbent his arm from the elbow. The movement was jerky, and the joint almost seemed to lock up when he had his forearm bent at a ninety-degree angle. Hux frowned, and continued the movement until he could do it smoothly.

The door opened again and several medics came in. They fussed around Hux, and began attempting to run through some simple exercises with him.

“Were there any complications from surgery?” He asked.

“No General.”

“And do I need to remain here?” Hux pressed.

The medic looked uncomfortable, “We would like to do some tests before you leave, General, to make sure the arm is-.”

“So, that’s a no?” Hux interupted. “All I need from you is a schedule of when to take my pain medication, and what not to take it with.”

“I can get that fixed up for you.” The medic relented. She was smart, Hux thought, she knew he wasn’t going to stay. He didn’t trust himself emotionally if the arm didn’t work, and he didn’t want that to happen in Medbay. The medic beckoned for the rest to leave the room. Guido was hanging at the door. Hux glared.

Kylo promptly shut the door in his face and produced Hux’s clothes. Hux couldn’t hold back a smirk as he got dressed.

“Thank you.”

“He annoys me too.” Kylo said, “His attitude it weird.”

Hux shrugged as he pulled his uniform back on. It felt good to be able to do it all with two hands, although it was a little bit of a struggle. He had gotten used to balancing with one arm, and now he was overbalancing to the right. Kylo kept him on his feet with gentle nudges every now and then. When was fully dressed, Hux picked up Kylo’s lightsaber and handed it to him.

“You’ve been without this for too long.” He said. Their fingers brushed as Hux handed it over, and Kylo lingered a little longer than he needed to.

The medic came back in with a schedule in her hands. “I’ve sent a copy to your personal datapad as well General, but a paper copy felt prudent.”

“Thank you. And thank you for your help. Now please excuse me.” Hux said, taking the schedule and sweeping from the room. Kylo followed.

Guido moved to intercept them. Kylo felt Hux sigh even though the General avoided showing the gesture outwardly.

“You aren’t going to let me see the finished product?” Guido asked.

“You already did in surgery.” Hux pointed out drily. “Unlike you, I have work to do. You have my thanks for your assistance.”

The man stepped aside, a little too shocked to say anything else due to Hux’s abrupt tone. Kylo wasn’t entirely sure what the man had been expecting, since Hux didn’t have a reputation for being patient.

The walk back to Hux’s room didn’t take as long as the first time they left Medbay. Hux was excited, nervous and happier than he had been in the last week, and it showed in the way he quickly strode through the ship. Kylo kept up with ease, and to anyone passing them it looked as if the General and the Knight were simply going about their normal business. No one would have guessed they had come from Medbay.

Hux locked the door when they were both inside, and wasted no time in rolling up the sleeve of his tunic to past the elbow so he could the bionic arm. His lip curled as he examined it, and it was the most Hux-like expression Kylo had seen on his face since the accident on Akiva. He reached up to remove his helmet. It always felt so stifling to wear when he was alone with Hux.

“Are you ready?” He asked as he set it aside “The medics said it would be difficult for you to use your fingers, or elbow, but the joint seems to be working.”

“I can make a fist, sort of, as well.” Hux said, bringing the hand up so Kylo could see. The fingers bent, nearly forming a hard first, but Hux couldn’t bend them all the way. “It hurts.” He added, teeth gritted, “And even beyond the pain it’s impossible for me to do it.”

“It’s more movement then they thought you were going to have.” Kylo tried to make the words sound comforting, but they came out wrong and made it sound like he thought Hux shouldn’t be complaining. Luckily Hux seemed to know what he meant, as he didn’t get angry.

“I’m not going to let it beat me.” He said firmly, “I’m going to get full use of my hand. I doubt I could pick anything up if I needed to use both arms, the pain would hurt too much. But I’ll work on it.”

“I know.” Kylo nodded. He bit his lip, and reached out to the bionic arm, stopping just short of it. “Can I touch it?”

“It’s not a toy, Ren.” Hux scoffed.

“I know.” Kylo said defensively, “I know but, I can sense your dislike of it. Like it’s horrible and still a deformity. I want to show you that it’s not.”

Hux didn’t reply, but he didn’t stop Kylo taking the hand in his and bringing it up to his face. The synthetic skin felt strange, but it was not unpleasant. And it was warm. He couldn’t feel any heartbeat, which was normal, but underneath he could feel the gears and wires whirring gently as they worked to keep Hux’s arm functioning. It was calming. Hux’s fingers curled automatically to fit to Kylo’s cheek, and Kylo smiled, holding his hand there with his own.

“I can hug you properly now.” He said, “And you can hug me back.”

“What if I don’t want to hug you?” Hux asked sceptically.

“Your mind betrays you General.” Kylo replied. Hux didn’t move when Kylo stepped closer, pulling him into a hug. He was carefully not to jolt Hux’s arm, but he hugged him tightly. Hux hugged him back, both hands curling into the back of Kylo’s robe. He held tighter with his left hand, but Kylo felt tears in his own eyes at the weight of the right hand on his back as well.

Hux was crying again. It was a lot to take in, and Kylo knew it. The healing process had properly begun, and Hux would be able to move past the loss of his limb now, even if he did hate the bionic one. He’d come to love it, Kylo decided. As much as Kylo loved it right now, curled into his robe. As much as Kylo had loved it resting gently against his face. And as much as Kylo loved it when he slotted it into his own hand and led Hux carefully into the bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter will be the last one! except for the epilogue!


	10. Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux has two arms.  
> Kylo and Hux are idiots in love.  
> Hux remembers an important detail about their work on Akiva that leads them to Jakku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELCOME TO THE LAST CHAPTER APART FROM THE EPILOGUE (which is only going to be short)
> 
> about half way through the fic i realised how i could lead this really nicely into the beginning of The Force Awakens /o/ sort of anyway :L
> 
> I want to say a big thank you to everyone that stuck with this fic and left comments and kudos and bookmarked and subscribed and just read it, you guys are amazing I really love you all so much!   
> you can find my tumblr [here](http://rannystuffandthings.tumblr.com/) if you want, i'll take any Kylux prompts you might have or you can just talk to me /o/
> 
> and again thank you!! you can expect more Kylux fics to come!

 

It was easy to fall back into a normal routine now he had two arms again. Hux’s mind compartmentalised the loss of his arm into an easier to manage problem. When he was on the bridge Kylo would instigate the old game Hux had started, leaving gentle touches when he could, brushing either Hux’s left or right hand. He lingered more on the right, or Hux noticed him touching the right side more as the synthetic skin was extremely sensitive because he wasn’t used to it. He was back in his capacity as General Hux again, and the Finalizer was better off for it.

Snoke hadn’t been in touch to say that he wanted to meet with Hux yet, but Kylo had said that this was normal, that the Supreme Leader probably had other things to deal with. Hux was glad of it, he didn’t want to face Snoke’s scrutiny yet.

There were days when the pain in his right arm was so bad that Hux couldn’t move without crying, couldn’t even get out of bed to begin his shift. Those days Kylo was in charge, running the Finalizer to the state that Hux would, following Hux’s instructions sent through the Force. It was hard, because all Kylo wanted to do was be by Hux’s side. Phasma took his place when she could, sitting with Hux, making sure he took his pain medication, allowing him to cry and scream and lament the pain. She would tell him how riled up these days would get the First Order, from the lowest Stormtrooper to the highest officer. They doubled their efforts to find the Resistance and complete their missions with ruthless efficiency when they knew their General was suffering because of a Resistance attack. That Hux would most likely be dealing with nerve pain for the rest of his life had spread anger through the Order, although Hux would love to know where the knowledge came from as it should have been confidential.

There were a couple of days in the first week since having the bionic arm that Medbay had had to sedate Hux because the pain was so bad. They had performed a none-invasive procedure to see what was going on with the nerve, and had explained to Hux when he was lucid enough afterward that they should perform something similar every month just to stimulate the healing of the nerve and sheath. Hux had accepted it and gone back to his room, still in pain, but with another painkiller drip inserted into his hand. Kylo had found him passed out that day, and when Hux had woken up according to Kylo he had propositioned him, although Hux didn’t remember doing so.

It was one of the painful days when Snoke finally gave them a time for the meeting. Hux didn’t care when Phasma gave him the message from Kylo, curled up on the bed, body completely tensed because he was afraid he would shake uncontrollably if he relaxed.

Phasma sat on the bed, facing Hux, and gently pushed some of his hair back of his forehead.

“Did Medbay tell you to go back if the pain got this bad again?” She asked.

“No.” Hux grunted, face scrunched in pain, “They just said to take my medication. Apparently, it’s going to hurt in the first month, because my body is trying to heal but it can’t. After the first month the pain will still be there, and there’ll be days where it’s bad but they should fade.”

“You’re lucky you’ve got Ren.” Phasma smirked, “He’ll see you sorted out through the first month.”

Hux glared up at her, the effect lessened by the fact his eyes were watering. “What do you mean?”

“You think I haven’t noticed how he basically spends all his time following you around, making sure you’re comfortable, spending time in your room. He nearly ripped the ship apart when you got back because he thought you were going to die.” Phasma seemed a little exasperated. “You’re telling me you haven’t noticed.”

“Well we sort of became…friends.” Hux admitted quietly, “After my first mission as a sniper.”

Phasma snorted, “Friends. Please. We’re friends, Hux and I don’t spend every single night plastered to your side, cuddling you, and constantly leaving small touches on you on the bridge.”

Hux paled, “You noticed?”

“I did. No one else has. Everyone just assumes he’s doing it on Snoke’s orders, since you’re the General of the Order and we need you.” Phasma shrugged, “But you’ve been different as well. Happier, but also extremely confused and out of it.”

“I’m on a lot of pain medication, what do you expect?” Hux snapped.

“Please Hux, stop it.” Phasma laughed, “I know you have feelings for Ren and you’re too emotionally repressed to even realise. And he probably doesn’t understand love for anyone other than a parental figure. If he even understands that and if he doesn’t he isn’t going to know that he-.”

“No don’t say-.”

“He loves you.” Phasma said loudly over Hux’s protests.

The look he gave her was torn between disgust and annoyance, but she knew him well enough to see the little flash of excitement hiding in the back of his eyes as well.

“Why did you have to say it?” Hux complained, “We haven’t mentioned it.”

“That’s because you’re idiots. He came to find you on Starkiller instead of coming and giving a report on his mission to the Supreme Leader. He’s not left your side since this incident. And you don’t want him too. Come on Hux, I know you’re not that stupid.” Phasma shook her head in exasperation, “I don’t know what it is you’re afraid of. Compromising each other? I doubt it. He’d give you the galaxy on a silver platter if he could right now. And you’d move planets for him. If that isn’t love I don’t know what is.”

“Who said I’d move planets for him?” Hux huffed, rolling onto his back and glaring at the ceiling.

“It’s just obvious.” Phasma shrugged. She stood and moved to the table. She’d brought some magazines for Hux, gossip magazines that she knew Hux would never admit to liking, but that he read with her anyway. “Look at the headline on this one. ‘I had a cough and the medic amputated my leg’.”

“What?” Hux laughed, grabbing the magazine from her and flipping it open, “Oh she had some sort of infection, that’s not half as funny as it sounds on the cover. ‘I got my girlfriend’s twin pregnant.’ Now that’s a better one.”

When Kylo returned a few hours later he found Phasma and Hux lying on their stomachs on the bed, legs in the air, hurriedly whispering about something they were reading. Hux was in a much better mood, and when Kylo gently checked his mind, he found the pain in his right arm had lessened over the day and faded around an hour ago.

“Ah, Lord Ren, welcome back.” Phasma said loudly, alerting Hux to Kylo’s presence. It wasn’t needed, Hux had felt Kylo coming from the end of the corridor, the warm weight on his mind where Kylo constantly rested alerting him.

“Captain Phasma. Thank you for your vigilance looking after General Hux. I can take over from here.” Kylo responded. He was desperate to get his helmet off, to feel Hux’s hands on his face and his small kisses as well, but he wouldn’t dare remove it in front of Phasma. She brazenly showed her face to him despite regulations saying Troopers were not to remove their helmets unless in designated areas. Hux’s bedroom could have been one of those, Kylo mused, and it didn’t matter regardless. Hux and Phasma were such good friends, it’d be weird for her to sit around his room wearing her helmet.

“I’m sure I’m leaving him in the best hands,” Phasma replied, standing from the bed and crossing to the table where her helmet was waiting. She shot Kylo an odd look and Hux groaned from the bed in exasperation.

“Please Phasma, just drop it.” He said, “Whatever your theory it isn’t true.”

“Understood, General.” Phasma saluted, helmet securely in place, and from her tone Kylo knew that whatever Hux was referring to was not going to get forgotten anytime soon.

The door to Hux’s rooms slid open and closed, and Kylo idly locked it before joining Hux on the bed and removing his own helmet. Hux was looking at him with an odd expression.

“Did you get my message from the Supreme Leader?” Kylo inquired.

Hux nodded, “Three days and he wants a meeting. It gives me time to go over the report given by the SU division and add my own things to it. Phasma told me before but I wasn’t really that bothered at the time.”

“I know the pain has been nearly unbearable today,” Kylo nodded, sympathetic. He wasted no time gathering Hux into his arms, kissing his forehead as he did. Hux wriggled, pushing back at Kylo with both arms to stop himself from being squashed against him.

“She said something else.” He said, “And I’m getting it out in the open now because she won’t drop it until I do.”

Kylo raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and let Hux go. He shifted, sitting against the headboard of the bed, and Kylo joined him. He took hold of Hux’s right hand and threaded their fingers together. Hux smiled and gave Kylo’s hand a squeeze.

“Phasma seems to believe there is more to your – our – feelings than simple friendship.” Hux continued. He had wanted to avoid Kylo’s gaze as he spoke, but just like so many times before he found it impossible to look away. Kylo’s eyes just had this power to them, a beauty in their deep, brown depths, and Hux loved them. “According to the evidence presented to her, she believes that…love may be involved.” Hux struggled over the word, and Kylo’s eyes widened when he heard it.

Neither looked away.

“She does, does she?” Kylo’s voice was calm. His hand was squeezing Hux’s tightly. His eyes betrayed his true emotions. Panic was prevalent, and Hux latched onto it because he felt exactly the same. The shocking part was the realisation in Kylo’s eyes as well, as if Hux using the word put a name to the emotion he had been trying so hard to explain. “Love.”

“Yes.” Hux ignored the realisation and went with the panic, and disbelief, he was feeling, “Stupid I know but-.”

“It’s not stupid!” Kylo interupted.

Hux’s couldn’t help but widen his own eyes at that. Kylo was embarrassed, his face a pleasant red colour, and his gaze nearly faltered from Hux’s. Lifting his free hand, Kylo cupped Hux’s face, making sure the General couldn’t look away.

“What else could it be?” He asked. “This isn’t…I’ve had friends before. So have you. You’ve got Phasma. This isn’t simple friendship Hux.”

“Can it not be hatred?” Hux replied. It was a stupid answer and Kylo frowned. Hux couldn’t help himself. Love was entirely new, and he didn’t know if he wanted it or not. Kylo yes, he wanted Kylo. Wanted to sleep by his side, spend time with him, kiss him and cup his cheek the way Kylo was doing to him now, gaze into his eyes and swap stories with him and-…stars it really was love.

“Do you normally kiss people you hate?” Kylo teased him gently. He had seen the realisation in Hux’s eyes the same way Hux had seen it in his.

“I could make a habit of it now.” Hux whispered. He shifted so he was kneeling on the bed, facing Kylo. The Knight did the same. “Does this change things?”

“Why would it?” Kylo breathed, “You said let’s just go with it, so let’s continue doing it. It’s not like we need to say it…to admit it to each other. What does it matter? As long as we’re happy.”

Hux brought his own hand up then, the right one, since Kylo loved the feeling of the synth skin against his face, and had convinced Hux that it wasn’t any different than his left hand. Kylo turned his head into Hux’s palm and laid a gentle kiss in the centre.

Grabbing Kylo by the back of his head suddenly with both hands Hux pulled him into a deep kiss. Their teeth clacked together a little painfully, but neither minded, or broke apart. Kylo gripped Hux’s head as well, hands tangled in his hair and holding Hux in place as Hux pulled Kylo’s hair, bringing him impossibly close. With a gentle push, Kylo guided Hux backwards until he lay down. They were sideways on the bed, and when Hux lay flat his head and shoulders dangled off the end of the bed. He huffed in laughter, and Kylo chuckled as well, the sound vibrating through Hux’s chest where they were pressed together.

Kylo sat back and Hux followed him up, chasing his lips. They shifted as they kissed, Kylo shifting so he was sat the right way and pulling Hux onto his lap. His arms settled around Hux’s waist, Hux’s hands still buried in his hair. When they finally did break apart, gasping quietly for air, Hux rested his forehead against Kylo’s and stared into his eyes.

“You’re beautiful, General.” Kylo sighed contentedly, “All of you.”

“Ren, I don’t know why you think I hate my arm but I don’t.” Hux smiled, “I don’t hate the arm. I hate the injury. The nerve damage.”

“I wish I could help you with that.” Kylo muttered, “I hate feeling your pain.”

“Pull away from me then.” Hux said.

“Never.”

Kylo kissed him again as he spoke and Hux swallowed the word happily. Falling backwards and pulling Hux with him, Kylo kept his hands on Hux’s hips to keep him steady. Hux bent, weight on his arms as they kissed. There was a weight on his right arm, and he realised somewhere in the haze of his mind that Kylo was using the Force to take the pressure off his right arm since it had been hurting all day. The thought touched Hux more than he would have guessed, and he deepened the kiss. Kylo groaned, receptively opening his mouth.

They continued kissing into the night, until Hux could barely keep his eyes open. Kylo had gotten pins and needles in his legs from Hux sitting on him after the first hour, and the ensuing attempts to get rid of it had been hilarious from Hux’s point of view. He had grabbed both of Kylo’s legs, causing the man to yelp and try to kick himself free. In the resulting tussle, Hux had found himself pinned under Kylo, one of Kylo’s thighs on either side of Hux’s, and an elbow on either side of his head. Hux had manoeuvred himself quickly, wrapping his legs around Kylo’s waist instead and drawing him in even closer as they kissed.

It never went further. They stripped, leaving each other only in strapped shirts and shorts, but never naked. Hux examined Kylo’s chest with his fingers as they kissed, tracing the muscles and making Kylo shiver. Kylo’s hands kept wandering to Hux’s hips, pinning him in whatever position they chose. They weren’t ready to go further. And that was fine for both of them. Kissing was enough, enough for now.

Love was a strange thing.

“I think my lips are numb.” Kylo murmured, stretching out on his side next to Hux.

“Think about it next time you want to kiss me for hours.” Hux mumbled, voice slurring slightly as he fought to keep his eyes open. Kylo slid his arms around him, one arm under his head and the other over his hips and Hux relaxed into his grip. He should really get up, shower, brush his teeth and then get into bed, but Kylo’s arms were too comfortable around him and his warmth made Hux feel even more sluggish than before. Opting to stay for the night – and making a tired, mental note to not allow Kylo Ren to interrupt his personal hygiene routine with kisses again – Hux made a content noise.  
“Goodnight, Ren.”

“Goodnight.”

\--

Hux was attempting to make a fist as he waited outside to go into the room and meet with Snoke. He had been reading and rereading over the report given by the SU division and had been unable to find any problems with it, or much else to add. When he had come to the entries on the datapad that he had had Techie hack, Hux had remembered suddenly that one of the soldiers had mentioned something about Jakku. It was entirely possible they had known they were being watched, but Phasma’s report told him that they hadn’t expected the First Order to find their camp, as it had been badly defended and the prisoners they had captured had expressed their regrets in having it in such an open area. So the news could prove to be true. It was best to be investigated.

Kylo wasn’t there yet. He had been meditating in the training room when Hux had last heard from him. So Hux focused on his hands, trying and failing to make a complete fist with his right hand. It was a work in progress, he kept telling himself. It was hard to hold a datapad in his right hand now, and Hux had had to shift a lot of his movements to his left hand, using his right almost as a back-up hand. No one mentioned it, but it was frustrating. He had smashed two datapads by trying to hold them in his right hand, and when his arm had spasmed he had been unable to keep a tight enough hold to stop them from falling to the floor. Since then he had only used his right hand for scrolling.

“General.”

Kylo’s voice greeted him, harsh through the vocoder and polite. They had mutually agreed to make sure no one found out about their relationship, although Hux had told Phasma he had broached the subject with Kylo and while neither of them had admitted it, it was clear to them what it was. Phasma had laughed at him, and said he was so easy to manipulate sometimes, but she had also congratulated him. Kylo had come back to Hux the same night saying that Phasma had threatened to shoot him if he ever hurt Hux. Hux had casually replied that he best not throw anymore tables at him, secretly pleased with Phasma’s protectiveness.

“Ren. Are you ready?”

“I am.” Kylo nodded. He brushed his fingers along Hux’s right hand as the doors to the audience chamber opened and they walked in.

Snoke’s holo was waiting for them, leaning on one hand and watching them approach. Hux wasn’t picking up an angry aura from the Supreme Leader, which gave him more confidence that Snoke had indeed been happy to wait for him to recover. Considering what had happened in the week he had been waiting for his replacement arm, Hux was glad for the chance as well.

“It is good to see you walking around with much problem, General.” Snoke began, inclining his head.

“Thank you, Supreme Leader. And for your patience in waiting for my report.” Hux replied, standing to Kylo’s right as he normally did.

“I believe further congratulations are in order for you both,” Snoke continued.

Hux glanced at Kylo. Kylo was staring straight ahead, but Hux could sense his mind turning quickly to figure out what the Supreme Leader meant.

“You have become engaged in a relationship.” Snoke stated, “Am I incorrect?”

“No Supreme Leader.” Hux responded confidently when it became clear Kylo wasn’t going to say anything, “It is true.”

“Normally I would forbid it,” Snoke said, “But you seem to bolster each other much more than when you were constantly fighting. Maybe the First Order can finally reach its full potential now.”

“I believe it can, Supreme Leader.” Hux agreed, “And not just with this union. I have further details I need to report to you that would not have been added by the SU division, as they were not there.”

Snoke waved his hand to indicate Hux should begin. He launched into a complete report of what had happened on Akiva, from the first arrival, to creating blueprints of the building, to him following the soldiers back to their camp.

“They mentioned the planet Jakku as a possible place of finding clues to Skywalker’s location.”

“Jakku?” Snoke questioned.

“Yes, Supreme Leader. While talking about the attack, Ren and I concluded that this was planned from the very first time we set foot on Akiva, to rescue Ren. The Resistance received information that I had been sent forward on a mission and decided to set a trap for me, to land a blow against the Order.” Hux paused to see if either Kylo or Snoke had any input for that, but neither spoke so he continued.   
“When I heard them speaking of Jakku, they had no idea I was following them, that I am sure of. They were chatting the entire time from their camp to the building, and Skywalker’s name popped up. They are considering Jakku, although I do not know what they are looking for.”

“And you believe it worth investigating?” Snoke asked.

“I do.” Hux nodded, “Even if it was a ploy, Jakku is not a planet with a lot of civilisation, and what is on there is fairly easy to locate. If anything seems like a possible hiding place for the map, we can investigate further.”

Snoke was nodding as well, and seemed impressed. “Very well General. I suggest you act on this quickly, as we have wasted enough time with you sitting on this information.”

Hux bristled at the barbed words, meant to insult him for taking so long to recover. Personally, he felt as if he had returned to work earlier than most with an amputation injury would, but he bit back those words and merely made to leave the chamber.

“One more thing General.” Snoke called.

Hux turned his head.

“You are hereby relieved of all field work duty. The damage you sustained has reduced your usefulness in the field, and it has become clear from this that you are a main target of the Resistance. I will not have the Order risked further. You are to remain aboard the Finalizer, or Starkiller Base until we have destroyed the Resistance. Am I clear?”

“Absolutely, Supreme Leader.” Hux said, turning back to the exit and striding out. Anger was bubbling up from his stomach. Snoke had not needed to word it that way. He chose those words specifically, a mental punishment to Hux for failing. Not that he had failed, they had merely been ill prepared for the mission, and if anyone had listened to Hux’s instincts it wouldn’t have happened anyway.

Kylo didn’t follow him out. Hux was glad. He needed to give the orders to bring them closer to Jakku and get surveillance of the settlements on the planet and then be alone.

Once Mitaka had promised the surveillance would be done and Hux would be notified as soon as they had a complete list of the settlements, Hux retired to his office, telling Mitaka that he was only to be disturbed if he was definitely needed. He took to pacing when he locked himself into the room, flexing his fingers. It shouldn’t bother him as much as it did, Hux told himself, it was obvious he would be removed from any sort of field work with his arm the way it was, but it did. Hux had been so proud to be a sniper, had been so proud to have been the only one to graduate from the class. The First Order hadn’t had any snipers before Hux came along, as no one had been able to pass that class, and Hux had made it look easy. He had introduced the SU division, with Trigger becoming the second sniper alongside Hux. The other five had come later, when Hux had been too busy to keep in mind the class he had set up. Being General defined who he was in the First Order, but the last few months, working as a sniper and a technician on Starkiller had reminded him of the other skills he had. Of the other uses the First Order could have of him.

Even building Starkiller, or helping to maintain her, would be impossible with his hand the way it was. He predominantly worked with his right hand. Hux grabbed the closest breakable thing to him, which happened to be a whiskey glass, and threw it against the door. It stopped in mid-air as the door was forced open and Kylo entered.

“Get out of here Ren!” Hux snapped, “Just leave me alone!”

“Snoke wanted me to ask what you’re doing on Jakku.” Kylo stated, leaving the whiskey glass suspended.

“We’re going surveillance of the planet to find the settlements and then we’re going to find out about any secret settlements and then decide where the map is most likely to be hidden.” Hux ground the words out, his hands itching with the need to throw something else. “Now leave me alone.”

Kylo nodded and left. He didn’t argue. He didn’t leave Hux properly alone either, he was always present in his mind. As the door closed the whiskey glass continued and smashed against the wall, making Hux jump. He stood, breathing rather heavily, fingers still twitching. He settled for going throw the reports that had been generated that morning, pacing the room as he read them and mulled over Snoke’s words, trying to see if there had been an foreshadowing of coming punishment for the perceived failure.

He was exhausted when a knock came to the door of the office. Glancing at the clock, Hux saw it had been six hours since the meeting. Six hours he had been pacing his office, reading, thinking and taking his medication to stop his arm from twinging. He crossed to the door, expecting it to be Kylo, and was surprised when he saw Phasma.

“Permission to enter, General?” She said.

“Permission granted, Captain.” Hux waved her inside, dropping the datapad onto the coach and running a hand through his hair. “How can I help you.”

“Hux you look exhausted.” Phasma stated, dropping the formality as soon as the door closed, “Did the meeting with Snoke not go well?”

“As far as I can tell it went fine.” Hux sighed, “No punishment, he just made it clear I wouldn’t be on field duty for a while. Which I understood anyway, since I can barely hold things in my right hand.”

“Ren sent me.” Phasma said.

“Why?” Hux snapped.

“He’s worried. You didn’t want him here.” Phasma replied, “I know you Hux, I know you need space sometimes. He’s learning.”

“We’ve known each other for three years,” Hux rolled his eyes, “I think Ren knows me.”

“He knows General Hux, leader of the First Order and hater of Kylo Ren.” Phasma pointed out, “I mean the majority of that doesn’t change when you leave the bridge and go to your room, but you’re not hating him anymore. There are things he needs to learn. Just like you don’t know all of him.”

Hux had to admit she was right. Grudgingly. She normally was.

“The Supreme Leader said I was relieved from field duty in a specific way, and it bothered me.” He admitted to her. She didn’t look surprised. “And I…loved being a sniper. And now I can’t. At least not until I get better control. If I ever do.”

“I know,” She said simply.

Hux raked a hand through his hair again. “He didn’t need to send you to check up on me.”

“I know that too.” Phasma laughed, “But I did want to make sure you’re alright. Get some sleep. The surveillance for Jakku should be ready for your morning shift.”

“Good.” Hux nodded, “The sooner this is dealt with the better. Where was Ren, when you spoke to him?”

“The officer’s training room. He said he’d spend the night in his own quarters. I don’t know where he is now.”

“I do.” Hux said, pulling out a small tracker from a drawer in his desk. “I had a tracker put into his belt the first time a mission went wrong. If the Supreme Leader asked, I could find him easily.”

Phasma grinned, shaking her head, “How controlling of you.”

Hux shrugged, “It’s useful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Remember I’m here to talk if you need to. I can get more shipments of those magazines as well.” She teased.

“Ugh, I don’t even know why they’re so fun to read.” Hux complained, “I swear we must be losing braincells when we read them.”

“Probably what keeps us interested.” Phasma chuckled. “Goodnight, General.”

“Goodnight, Captain.”

They left Hux’s office together and split at the end of the corridor, Phasma returning to her duties and Hux following the tracker to find Kylo. He was moving, heading from the training room back to his quarters. Hux would intercept him just before he entered, which was good. It meant they could go back to Hux’s rooms without him having to enter Kylo’s. The twisted metal of Darth Vader’s mask had always unnerved him a little.

“Ren!” He barked, using the tone he did when Kylo had done something to annoy him. Kylo jumped as he went to open the door to his room, and turned slowly. They were alone in the corridor. “Come with me.” Hux said, his voice gentler this time and his right hand extended.

Kylo was wearing his helmet, as usual, but Hux knew he was smiling under it as he stepped forward and took Hux’s hand. They released each other quickly, and walked side by side back to Hux’s room. Hux entered first, and Kylo locked the door.

“Are you okay?” He asked immediately, taking off his helmet and shaking his hair from his face.

“I’m fine. Thanks for sending a babysitter to me.”

The Knight had the grace to look sheepish, “Sorry. I was worried though.”

“No need,” Hux sniffed, “It was an inevitable conclusion following my injury. Phasma has ordered me to go to bed and I intend to, but I want to shower first. Would you…care to join me?”

Kylo smiled. “Yes.”

Hux extended his right arm again. Kylo curled their fingers together and followed Hux into the ‘fresher.

\--

“General, here is a list of the settlements on Jakku.” Mitaka said, handing over a datapad to Hux for him to scroll through.

“Thank you for your hard work, Lieutenant.” Hux replied, holding the datapad in his left hand and scanning the names. They all seemed generic, except for one. Tuanul was the name, and next to it Mitaka had scrawled “Church of the Force” messily. Hux frowned. Kylo was standing at the viewport, on the other side of the bridge, and he sensed Hux’s change in mood and turned, even as Hux began to stride towards him.

“What do you know of the Church of the Force?” Hux asked.

“I…there’s an underground cult of sorts by that name.” Kylo replied, “They worship the Force and the Jedi. They believe balance is only found with the Jedi. I remember being taught about them, and reading of them. Why?”

“One of the cities on Jakku is Tuanul, which apparently is the city of this Church.” Hux explained, handing Kylo the datapad. “It’s located in the Kelvin Ravine. If there’s going to be any clues to Skywalker’s location, where better to hide it then with a group of Force worshippers.”

Kylo was silent and for a moment Hux was sure he was going to shoot down the theory. Then Kylo looked up and even without seeing his face Hux knew he looked amazed. He hadn’t expected to have an answer so fast.

“This is why I’m General.” Hux said proudly, “And why I needed to back on duty as soon as possible.”

“You’re amazing.” Kylo breathed, “We should always listen to your hunches.”

“Yes, you should.” Hux agreed. “We should tell the Supreme Leader.”

“Leave that to me.” Kylo stated, “Gather Phasma and a contingent of Stormtroopers and have my shuttle prepared. Please. The Supreme Leader will want us to leave as soon as possible to head for Jakku.”

Hux nodded, “Okay.” There was little else he could say, as Kylo stalked off quickly, still holding the datapad. He was excited, bordering on ecstatic that they may find the final piece of the map. Hux didn’t pretend to fully understand why, he didn’t understand the need to find Skywalker, except that Snoke believed if Skywalker did somehow surface, he’d lead the Resistance to victory.

“Lieutenant.” Hux snapped. “Set a course for Jakku. And get us there quickly.”

“Yes General!” Mitaka saluted.

Hux went about getting the Stormtroopers and Kylo’s shuttle ready after the Finalizer began cruising through space towards the planet. Phasma was more than happy to gather a group of Stormtrooper’s together and get them ready for departure. Hux explained to her quietly what they had found, and she informed him in no short way she felt the same as him. But they would follow Snoke’s orders, and Hux had no doubt they would come back the same way Kylo had said.

“We barely know anything about the residents of the city,” He said, trying to find as much as he could in the Order’s records, most of which had been pulled from the Empire and from the hacked records of the Republic, “So it will be at your discretion how many Troopers you take, Captain. Make sure you have enough no matter the situation. I doubt the Supreme Leader will give us the time to scout the settlement first, not if the Resistance may know of its existence as well.”

“Understood, General. I will prepare my best unit. The FN unit should do, they are exceptionally trained and have not yet failed a mission.” Phasma said.

“Good.” Hux nodded, “Please inform me when you are ready via Comm, and I shall tell you what the Supreme Leader’s decision has been.”

With that said Hux went to find Kylo. Snoke had already answered him, Hux could sense his excitement. It was strange, this bond between them. It was slowly allowing Hux to feel emotions of Kylo’s end as well. He had yet to breach this with Kylo, and he had a feeling that this wasn’t the right time. Kylo was stalking down towards the Hangar Bay as Hux approached the turbolift to get back to the main part of the ship.

“General.” Kylo called, “The Supreme Leader has ordered for an immediate departure.”

“We are manoeuvring the Finalizer into position closer to Jakku,” Hux informed him, remembering to keep his formal attitude as they were out in the open, “Departure when we get closer will be more beneficial for you.”

Kylo wanted to argue, but he knew Hux was right.

“We should formulate some kind of plan for you.” Hux continued, “At least give you a semblance of order.”

“I will not need a plan.” Kylo disagreed, following Hux into the turbolift.

“Ren, please, you’re going into an unknown environment. A plan is not without merit.” Hux argued.

Kylo rounded on him, “This is not a sniper mission, General! We are not going there to lie in wait for days and stalk our victims! I will be going in, finding out who has the map and getting it by force.”

It was harder to take the brunt of Kylo’s anger now there were feelings involved, Hux realised. Kylo was angry, desperate, most likely from Snoke telling him that there was no room for error on this mission. He returned with the map, or with a good lead to it, or he was due for punishment. Even before he had grown to like Kylo, Hux had always hated seeing him just after punishment. He was a shell of a person for a few days.

“I am not proposing a sniper like plan, I understand this situation requires fast mobilisation.” Hux finally managed to speak with his voice steady. “But a plan would still be-.”

“We don’t need a plan!” Kylo repeated, louder but still not quite shouting. The turbolift shook as the Force reverberated around it, and for a moment Hux imagined them plummeting back down into the bowels of the ship because of Kylo’s anger. The thought must have shown on his face, as Kylo immediately turned away from him and jabbed the button for the next floor so he could leave.   
“I’m going to meditate and train while you get us in position, General.” He said, quietly, “Please inform me if you discover anything else we can use.”

The lift stopped and Kylo walked out of it. Hux wanted to reach for him, but he stopped himself. He was General Hux right now, and he was seething with anger at Kylo’s complete dismissal of his ideas when a few moments ago, he had called Hux “amazing”. Kylo didn’t need him right now, he had made that clear. He had given Hux space when Hux had needed it, it was all he could to extend the same courtesy.

He went back to work.

Kylo was waiting for him in his quarters when he finally got off shift. His helmet was gone and he looked tired. There were bruise marks on his neck.

“What happened?” Hux demanded, all anger at seeing Kylo dissipating immediately.

“The Supreme Leader gave me a taste of what was to come if I displeased him with this mission.” Kylo replied. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.”

“He isn’t going to be hurting you if you fail is he?” Hux guessed, “He has other methods of doing that.”

“No.” Kylo whispered. “He’ll use his power against you. I won’t fail this Hux. It’s important.”

“Let him try and choke me.” Hux snorted, “He needs me and he knows it. Don’t be afraid he’s going to break me Ren, the First Order would be nothing without me.”

Kylo perked a little at Hux’s words because like Hux, he knew them to be true. Snoke could have easily replaced Hux when he had been injured, brought someone else in to command while he had been out of action, but he hadn’t. The First Order needed Hux’s brilliant mind, for Starkiller if nothing else. So Snoke would hurt him. But not kill him. Kylo didn’t really want Snoke to hurt Hux either.

“Relax Ren.” Hux soothed, bringing his right hand up to rest on Kylo’s cheek, “This will be easy. You said so yourself. We’ll be at Jakku within two days, and you can get this mission done with.”

“And be back with you.” Kylo breathed, drawing Hux closer and kissing him again, “Back to this.”

Hux hummed his agreement into the kiss, his arms going around Kylo’s waist. He drew back for a moment, resting their foreheads together again and forcing their eyes to meet.

“Be careful.” He whispered, “Follow your instincts.”

“I will.” Kylo promised. “Everything is going to work out from here Hux. Your brilliant mind will lead us to victory, and the First Order is ready to be unleashed, their anger at the Resistance is palpable wherever you go. We will find the map. We’ll find the Resistance. We’ll win the entire Galaxy.”

“Together.” Hux murmured, before claiming Kylo’s lips in another kiss again.


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the destruction of Starkiller and Kylo's injuries, Hux forms a new plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we are  
> the end /o/  
> i had so much fun writing this fic even if I did get a bit stuck :L
> 
> the epilogue is sort of a personal thing, you can choose to end the fic on chapter 10 and still have the same effect i think /o/ chapter 10 gives a nice ambiguous ending
> 
> thank you so much to everyone for sticking with me!! please enjoy the chapter!

 

 

Even with the ground breaking up as explosions rocked the planet, Starkiller base was freezing. Hux drew his coat closer to him as he attempted to run through the snow towards the little blip on the tracker in his hand. Kylo was just ahead, and Hux knew something was wrong. He had been calling to Kylo mentally, trying to get a response and a location, but had been greeted with what he could only compare to radio silence.

Through the treeline Hux spotted him before any of the Troopers that were stalking the planet did. Panic set in at the sight of blood scattered so bright on the snow, of Kylo lying flat on his back, still and silent, and Hux rushed towards him, slipping and sliding through the snow and ice. His foot knocked Kylo’s lightsaber in his haste, and Hux bent down to grab it and secure it to his belt without missing a beat into getting to Kylo and dropping to his knees.

There was a vicious wound bisecting his face and right shoulder. Hux recognised it as a lightsaber wound, cauterised already from the heat of the blade but just as dangerous as a dagger wound. There were several others as well, many of them from a lightsaber, but the wound to Kylo’s stomach, the one that was bleeding steadily, worried Hux the most. He needed to get Kylo out of there, onto the shuttle and back to the Finalizer as soon as soon as possible, before it would be impossible for even a bacta tank to help him. The Troopers hadn’t followed him, the weather of Starkiller hindering them more than it should.

Hux gritted his teeth and hauled Kylo into his arm. His right arm protested the weight, the damaged nerve screaming but Hux forced himself to ignore it. Adrenaline rushed through him, granting him the strength and stamina he needed to get Kylo into his arms. The ground shook and began to fall away in front of him, threatening to send him and Kylo into the centre of the planet to their deaths.

He needed to move.

Gripping Kylo to him as best he could, Hux forced his right hand to close fully and give him better leverage, despite the pain. He couldn’t focus on his own pain right now, he needed to focus on getting Kylo to the shuttle in one piece. Memories of Trigger’s words about Kylo’s state when he had carried Hux across Akiva to their shuttle when he had been injured filled Hux with further motivation. This situation must had looked similar, he thought as he ploughed through the snow, catching the attention of the Troopers, who waved for the shuttle to come down for them. Hux was bloodstained by the time he got on board, and snarling from the effort of carrying Kylo’s considerable bulk.

The Knight was still unconscious when Hux lay him on the floor, although his body was shivering as a natural defence against the cold.

“Get us back to the Finalizer!” Hux yelled as the Stormtroopers piled on as well and closed the ramp. Hux stripped his greatcoat and covered Kylo with it to give him an extra layer of protection from the cold, and then stared down at him. He hadn’t been expecting Kylo to be injured until they had begun their search, and he hadn’t brought any supplies with him. Grimacing as blood began to pool on the floor of the shuttle, Hux spurred himself into movement.

As the shuttle was bathed in the orange glow as Starkiller imploded, Hux ripped off his gloves and his tunic, before tearing Kylo’s belt off and the clothes away from the wound on his side. He needed to concentrate, to ignore the turmoil in him from the loss of Starkiller. She had been his, he had worked on her with his own hands, and he had shared his first kiss with Kylo on her surface, however unwelcome it had been. Hux shook the thoughts away, folding his tunic to make a wad of material and pressing it against Kylo’s side. The wound looked like it had come from a blaster, more powerful than the standard issue. That Kylo had been able to engage in a lightsaber fight after that was beyond comprehension for Hux, but Kylo had the Force to bolster him, and his single-minded determination to bring down the scavenger that had caused them so much trouble was without question.

His tunic was getting soaked in blood, as were Hux’s hands. His right hand was stuck as a fist, and he wasn’t sure how much control he had over his right arm after carrying Kylo. The ache felt like it was in his very bones, but Hux ignored it and kept pressing, willing Kylo to survive until they could reach the Finalizer. His own injuries could wait.

Luckily the ship was not far away, and there was a medical team waiting for them when they docked into the hangar bay. Kylo was loaded onto a stretcher and rushed to Medbay, where a bacta tank had already been prepared. Hux followed slowly, wearing only a regulation black vest and with his hands caked in blood. He was cold, shivering, as Kylo had still been draped in his greatcoat when the medics had taken him. Phasma appeared at his elbow, concerned, as did Mitaka. They said something, promising to take care of the Finalizer or asking him for orders, Hux didn’t know. He wasn’t listening, too focused on getting to the Medbay and making sure Kylo pulled through. They let him go without complaint.

\--

Kylo groaned as he began to regain consciousness. The room he was in, wherever he was, was quiet, and smelled like a hospital. His body felt sluggish, and it was with great difficulty that he raised a hand to investigate why everything was dark out of his right eye. Touching his face yielded him no answers except that he was covered in bandages and it hurt to touch. Memories started fading back to him, the scavenger girl and the traitorous Stormtrooper, the lightsaber battle, her victory over him. Kylo hissed in anger and tried to sit up, only to find he couldn’t.

A hand wound into his left, soft, synthetic skin against his calluses, and Kylo turned his head to the side to see Hux sitting there. He looked haggard, tired and relieved all at once, and was pristine with his hair slicked back and his uniform in order. Kylo had an oxygen mask on his face, and more bandages wound around his left and right shoulders and left hand side, from what he could feel.

“Hey.” Hux whispered, “Let me get a medic.”

Kylo tried to squeeze Hux’s hand but couldn’t find the energy. Hux understood what he wanted regardless, having felt the change and panic that shot through Kylo at the thought of being alone. He called for a medic loudly rather than leaving the room, his attention solely fixed on Kylo. The medic that entered looked relieved that Kylo was conscious, and began a physical examination of him. It was not unlike what they had done with Hux after he had been unconscious, and Kylo did as he was told.

“I’ll explain the damage.” Hux said matter-of-factly when the medic pulled out a datapad with Kylo’s chart on it.

Kylo pulled the mask down at his words and weakly asked, “Are you secretly a qualified doctor?”

Hux couldn’t help the fond smile at Kylo using Hux’s own words against him. The medic left the room, happy with Kylo’s vitals and Hux’s ability to run through Kylo’s injuries.

“I’m qualified enough.” Hux said when she was gone. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

“Did you destroy part of the Medbay?” Kylo asked jokingly. Whatever drugs he was on were helping lighten the dark mood that had tried to settle when he realised he had failed and the girl had escaped.

Hux shook his head, lips still upturned. “No. Though I can see why you did.”

“You’re not trying hard enough.” Kylo coughed as he spoke, his words tripping over his want to laugh.

Hux looked worried for a moment before he turned his attention to the chart when he saw Kylo was okay. “Apart from the facial injury, which I’ll get to in a moment, there are several others. One to your side caused by a bowblaster, and other lightsaber wounds to your left shoulder, right shoulder and neck and right leg. We got you into the bacta quickly enough to heal them, and the medics are only concerned about the wound to your left shoulder.” He read out the description of the injuries in a concise way, with much less sugar-coating than Kylo had used when their positions had been reversed.

“Why?” Kylo murmured, idly thinking of how beautiful Hux was even in the slightly harsh light of Medbay.

“There was significant nerve and muscle damage.” Hux’s reply was quiet. “You should regain full use of your arm, but it may take some time.”

“So we make a fully functional person between us then?” Kylo laughed, unable to help himself.

Hux smiled as well. “I can fully function alone, thank you.”

Kylo stared at him blankly for a moment, wondering what he meant. Hux lifted the datapad, which he was holding securely in his right hand. He swapped it to his left and clenched and unclenched his fingers, showing Kylo he could make a fist with the hand now.

“You…you’ve regained control.” Kylo gasped. “When? How?”

“When I found you lying in the snow bleeding out and unconscious I got an adrenaline rush. I forced myself to carry you back to the shuttle. My right hand got stuck in a fist position after that, a nerve spasm they said. When the medics went to fix it, they found that the strain of carrying you had actually pulled the damaged nerve and sheath back into a better, more natural position. It’s still not completely healed, but it’s good enough, enough for more control.” Hux explained. He looked triumphant, and it was infectious. Kylo couldn’t help but grin as well. “So I can shoot again, maybe. It still hurts to make a fist.”

“I’m glad.” Kylo whispered, “I am.”

“And you’re going to get full mobility back as well, if you even lose any.” Hux stated firmly, “I’ll help you if I need to.” He paused for a moment, and Kylo felt the apprehension in him easily, the Force shifting around him. “There is something else Ren. It’s not great news.”

“What?”

“We think you may have been blinded.” Hux said, still blunt.

Kylo’s stomach churned and his panic and anger must have shown on his face as Hux dropped the datapad and took his hand up in both of his.

“They believe it’s temporary.” He clarified, “The bacta did wonders healing you, really. There will be a scar, no doubt about that, but you should regain your sight as well.”

“But it’s not definite?” Kylo guessed.

Hux shook his head. “They can’t say so. But I have an idea.”

“Oh?”

“A bionic plate.” Hux said. “I was speaking to Guido and I asked him…hypothetically what he could do about lack of sight. He said it’s tricky, but if the retina is fine then there are some things that can be done. His ideas involve tricking the retina in believe it can see using a bionic plate. He explained the technology behind it but at the time I wasn’t in any state to really take it in.” Hux took a breath, pausing for a moment to gauge Kylo’s reaction.  
“What I did get from him was that you would have this plate attached, discreetly, to your head, and so would I. When activated, the signals between the two plates will complete the picture for you, in what we’re seeing. If we’re in a different place I think he said something about it being subconscious, for both of us. So using my ability to see and the pictures already being sent to your brain by your left eye, the plate tricks your right retina into believing that it can see perfectly as well. It’s complicated but it’s worth a try. You were my arm once Ren, let me be your eye.”

Kylo was speechless at the end, a little confused and extremely touched that Hux would even consider doing something like that for him.

“So you’d always know where I was, even if it was subconscious?” He questioned.

Hux nodded, shifting. “It was just an idea. There are other things, less complicated things they can do.”

“If they can’t get my sight back, I’ll do that.” Kylo confirmed without needing to think. It would take some getting used to, but being able to share something like that with Hux would be so intimate it stole Kylo’s breath.

The General seemed to know what he was thinking, placing a kiss to Kylo’s palm and smiling lightly. Kylo tugged at his hands, until Hux climbed into the bed carefully, lying along Kylo’s side. He didn’t touch him, couldn’t touch him because of the bandages, despite most of the wounds being healed, but feeling Hux’s presence close to him was comforting enough for Kylo to slip back into sleep.

\--

Hux’s presence in Medbay was not as constant as Kylo’s had been, since he had to report to Snoke constantly on Kylo’s condition, and coordinate what the Order’s move against the Resistance was now going to be since Starkiller had been destroyed. Hux believed it to be a fluke, a stupid lucky draw by the Resistance that the plan they had had worked. It helped him deal with Starkiller’s destruction, as did Kylo’s recovery. By the time Kylo’s facial bandages were due to come off, he had formed several plans and had come somewhat to terms with what he had come to view as only a minor setback. It was his incredible willpower that had forced him into that and Kylo was both impressed and a little worried. Still, if Hux needed to break he would when he was ready to, when Kylo was ready for him to.

They stood side by side in front of the mirror in Hux’s bathroom. Hux cut the bandages away, taking the opportunity to cut Kylo’s hair as well into a more manageable length, as it had grown during his time in Medbay. The scar was red, angry, and the skin was puffy around it. Kylo instantly hated it.

“Another reason for me to hide my face.” He said, glaring at himself in the mirror. “I suppose my helmet was lost on Starkiller.”

“It was.” Hux nodded, “I’m having another one made for you now, but it will take a while to get here.”

“I’m not leaving this room until it does.” Kylo stated, “This is-.”

“Wonderful.” Hux interupted. He brought right hand up and stroked the scar gently.

Kylo held his breath. Despite all of Hux’s protests, he knew he hated his bionic arm, thought it made him weaker since he could barely control it and it was a symbol of the Resistance’s victory over him. Kylo know was feeling all of the above with the scar on his face. Hux wasn’t going to stand for it.

“Do you know what this scar says to me?” Hux continued, keeping Kylo’s gaze easily with his icy green eyes.

“Failure?”

“Did I say my name was Kylo Ren?” Hux asked drily, “No. It shows me survival. That someone out there in the Galaxy attempted to take you down and _failed_. That’s what this arm says as well. The Resistance tried to stop us, tried to kill us and instead they made us stronger, survivors, more intent on destroying them then before. They gave us the power to bring the full might of our supporters against them in anger at what they did to us. When I look at this scar, I see a story. Like you did when you looked at the scar on my back.”

“But I did fail.” Kylo hissed, “She escaped me.”

“And you’ll face her again.” Hux said, “And you’ll win. Use all you know about her against her. She was fighting for her friend, for his injuries. And no one out there sees you as a failure. There are four people in this Galaxy that know what happened. You, me, the girl and that traitor.”

“Snoke sees me as a traitor.”

“Immaterial.” Hux sniffed, “He is. Ren, my plans for the First Order do not involve Snoke. In any way. He is a drag on us, focusing too much on the Force and its power. I know, before you say anything, that the Force is immensely powerful. And important. And the rise of the new Jedi could spell doom for us. In Snoke’s view.” Hux’s voice grew bitter as he spoke, and Kylo’s heart sped up at the connotations of Hux’s words.  
“The Supreme Leader is blind. I’ve said it to you before, Ren. He sees the bigger picture. And he is blind to everything else. You and I, we could rule better without him, Ren. But I need to…I need to ask you something.”

“Anything.” Kylo breathed, the scar on his face successfully forgotten at Hux’s impassioned words.

“If I was to turn on Snoke, lead the First Order against him, would you follow?”

They hadn’t broken eye contact since Hux had first initiated it, and Kylo found he couldn’t do so now. Hux was completely serious, one of his plans did involve leading the First Order away from Snoke and in a completely new direction. And Kylo found he had complete faith in that. He needed Snoke to complete his training, but after that…his master was immaterial. Hux was the one he needed, the one who cared about him, spent time with him, loved him, and supported him. Hux didn’t use him. And Hux didn’t see him as a failure. Because Kylo hadn’t seen Hux as a failure either.

“I would follow you.” He whispered, cupping Hux’s cheek. “Anywhere.”

“We will bring this Galaxy to order.” Hux murmured back, leaning in Kylo’s embrace and gently thumbing Kylo’s scar again. “Together.”

Kylo kissed in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check out my tumblr [ here](http://rannystuffandthings.tumblr.com/) if you want /o/

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading ^o^


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